ACTIVISTS, NGOs RALLY AGAINST INTRODUCTION OF GMO FOODS IN NIGERIA; SAY NOT SOLUTION FOR FOOD CRISIS

Efforts by the Federal Government to promote the use of Genetically Modified Organism products in Nigeria are facing strong resistance by some Nigerians due to concerns over threats to human health, the environment, food system, and the agricultural sector. The Federal Government, through the National Biosafety Management Agency, has pledged commitment to ensuring that only safe Genetically Modified Products will be allowed in the Nigerian market. But a coalition of about one thousand activists and nongovernmental organizations under the umbrella of ‘GMO-Free Nigeria’, has mobilized nationwide rallies, beginning from Ikeja, Lagos, to oppose the move. One of the speakers, ZIKORA IBEH, who is a Senior Programme Officer of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, said Nigerians are not being given the right to determine whether they want to consume GMO foods, as is being done in other parts of the world. Also speaking, MARY-GOEORGE PELUOLA of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre in Lagos warned that the introduction of GMO crops would have negative impact on women who are involved in farming in the various communities across Nigeria. On his part, GIDEON ADEYEMI, also a Programme Officer of CAPPA, maintained that the introduction of GMO foods was not the solution to the food crisis in Nigeria, as it does more harm than good to the agricultural system in the long run. However, some Nigerians who spoke with reporters on the sideline of the ‘Nigeria-Free GMO’ rally in Ikeja, Lagos, appeared unaware of the Genetically Modified food or the presence of such in the Nigerian.