Wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has said that she felt saddened by the magnitude of malnutrition facing Nigeria just as she reaffirmed her commitment to ending malnutrition in the country.
Speaking in Abuja at a cocktail party marking end of official Launch of Mrs. Aisha Buhari’s, Get-Involved Initiative aimed at stemming growth of malnutrition in the area, she noted that the magnitude of the problem can’t be solved by one stakeholder or group.
According to her, experts on nutrition have already articulated the current situation, the efforts being made and the future direction.
“This is the time for all of us to once again renew our intentions and commitments towards ending the problem of malnutrition facing our country.”
Mrs. Buhari also called on traditional/religious leaders, private sector, civil society and the media to be part of the Get-Involved Initiative.
The cocktail party was attended by many wives of state governors and cabinet members.
On his part,The Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume warned that improper handling of the malnutrition crisis in the North East is capable of causing a larger war than the one being fought against the insurgents, Boko Haram.
He said: “The situation in Borno State particularly in the North East and in the country as liberated generally is very very serious. If we don’t do something concrete now on these children that are growing up malnourished, sick with hunger, poverty and malnutrition in Borno state, then we are going to have another war that is worse than the Boko Haram.
“So I want you to give the Wife of the President all the support. As estimated, if we don’t do something, for sure more than 50,000 children are going to die of malnutrition.
“That is beside the people that are dieing right now because of hunger in Borno State.”
“And I want to call on you the Wife of Mr. President to do more because what you have seen coming out of Bawa is a tip of the iceberg of what is happening in Borno state.” He added.
The Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetima said that the Wife of the President took the challenge of the crisis in the area head on by mobilizing resources to solve the problem.
He said: “We cannot thank you enough. You deserve special commendation for your giant strides towards assisting the less endowed in our society.
“She has so far given thirty trucks of assorted commodities to our people. We want to call on other well-to-do Nigerians to come out to give their widows might to her cause.” He said