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FAO lauds Nelson Mandela as champion of right to food
ROME – “We have lost one of the world’s passionate defenders of the right to food,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, on learning of the death of Nelson Mandela, former South Africa president.
“As a true champion of human rights, Nelson Mandela understood that the hunger of millions of people was unjust and unsustainable,” said the FAO Director-General.
“At FAO, we have been inspired over the years by Mandela’s repeated calls to address hunger and the many social and economic ills that either led to hunger or resulted from a lack of access to food in a world of relative plenty,” said Graziano da Silva.
“Mandela understood that a hungry man, woman or child could not be truly free. He understood that eliminating hunger was not so much a question of producing more food as it was a matter of making the political commitment to ensure that people had access to the resources and services they needed to buy or produce enough safe and nutritious food.”
Since 2009, the United Nations has recognized July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day. Graziano da Silva said it was fitting that the South African government had chosen to highlight food security and nutrition issues in celebrating Mandela’s 95th birthday this year, even though the former president and anti-apartheid activist had been too ill to participate.
“Mandela has been an inspiration to me in 30 years of work to improve food security in the world, and he will continue to inspire our work at FAO,” Graziano da Silva said.
“We owe him a debt of thanks for speaking out on hunger. More importantly, we owe it to the 842 million people in the world who suffer from chronic hunger to redouble our efforts to eliminate hunger in our lifetimes.”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have disclosed details of their recent closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu, explaining that the engagement focused on strengthening Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The clarification came amid speculation surrounding the meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after leaders of several opposition parties attended an Iftar dinner hosted by the president earlier in the week.
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Speaking during a gathering hosted in Abuja by the SDP’s former presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo on Friday, the party’s National Chairman, Prof. Sadiq Gombe, said the meeting with Tinubu followed an official invitation from the Presidency and lasted about an hour.
According to Gombe, the discussion centred on the need to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral laws and restore public confidence in the country’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 polls.
He explained that the meeting provided an opportunity for party leaders to remind the president of the importance of conducting transparent, free, and credible elections.
Gombe noted that democracy can only thrive when governments listen to the concerns of citizens and ensure electoral processes that guarantee fairness and accountability.
The SDP chairman also expressed concern over growing voter apathy, pointing to the low turnout recorded in the recent Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the Abuja Municipal Area Council election witnessed only about seven per cent voter turnout, which he described as a clear sign that many Nigerians are losing confidence in the electoral system.
Gombe urged the government and members of the National Assembly to take urgent steps to review electoral laws and rebuild public trust in Nigeria’s democracy.
Also speaking, the National Chairman of IPAC, Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, said political parties used the meeting to raise concerns about aspects of proposed electoral reforms, particularly issues related to indirect primaries and the mandatory electronic transmission of results.
Dantalle explained that the parties appealed to the president to use his influence to encourage legislative review where necessary, noting that reforms should strengthen, rather than complicate, the democratic process.
He expressed optimism that Tinubu would consider the concerns raised and support necessary amendments that would improve the electoral system.
The IPAC chairman also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strictly adhere to electoral guidelines as preparations for the next election cycle begin.
Earlier in his remarks, Adebayo cautioned political actors against turning the 2027 general elections into a do-or-die contest, stressing that the primary goal of democracy should be the progress and stability of Nigeria rather than personal political victories.
He urged leaders across political parties to encourage citizens to actively participate in the democratic process and ensure that elections are conducted peacefully and transparently.
President Bola Tinubu and Mr. Taiwo Oyedele during his nomination on Wednesday.
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