•Obuesi Phillips
The Executive Director of SWEEP Foundation NG and Convener of the Waste in the City Initiative, Amb. Obuesi Phillips, has said hunger, as well as insecurity and waste are killing the democracy Nigerians are celebrating on June 12.
Obuesi spoke in his message to mark the 2026 Democracy Day, saying Nigerians need good governance, reports Daily Independent.
“As Nigeria marks Democracy Day 2026, the same three names keep forcing themselves into national conversation: Nnamdi Kanu, Omoyele Sowore and VeryDarkMan,” he said.
“Different methods, different audiences, but one shared demand. Nigerians are searching for good governance. Not slogans. Not excuses. Results.
“Twenty-six years after June 12, the sacrifice that birthed this democracy now asks a harder question: What has democracy done for the hungry child in Borno, the displaced farmer in Benue, the jobless graduate in Surulere, and the mother wading through refuse to open her shop? If democracy cannot answer them, then we are celebrating a democracy in name only.”
He said good governance must be felt through alleviating hunger.
“From a development perspective, good governance must be felt in the stomach before it is heard in speeches. Today, that is where Nigeria is failing most painfully. Hunger and poverty are spiralling, and they are not accidental. They are the end product of waste, insecurity and weak institutions working together.
“Food inflation has pushed basic meals beyond the reach of millions. The National Bureau of Statistics shows food inflation above 20 percent for months, while wages have remained stagnant. Families that once ate twice a day now manage once. Children go to school hungry. Hospitals fill with cases of malnutrition. This is not just economic data. This is human dignity collapsing.
“The causes are clear. Insecurity has turned farmlands into battlefields. Banditry in the North West and violent attacks across the Middle Belt mean farmers abandon their land or farm in fear. When bandits control rural roads and herder-farmer clashes displace entire communities, food production drops sharply. Less food, same population, higher prices. Hunger follows.
“Poverty deepens the cycle. When a family spends 70 percent of income on food, there is nothing left for health, education or small business. Youth who cannot find work become easy recruits for crime. Communities that cannot feed themselves cannot invest in clean environments. Waste piles up, drains block, floods come, and livelihoods are washed away. Poverty, hunger, waste and insecurity become one knot. You cannot untie one without touching the others.”
Ambassador Obuesi highlighted the challenges of waste management in the country, regretting the waste crisis in the land:
*Nigeria generates over 32 million tonnes of waste yearly, yet less than 40 percent is collected. The rest chokes our cities. But the waste crisis is worse in rural areas where insecurity is highest. When bandits make a community unsafe, waste collection stops. When farmers flee, food waste increases and markets collapse. When institutions are absent, both refuse and violence fill the gap.
“This is why sustainable development is not a slogan. It is survival. Sustainable Development Goal 2 is Zero Hunger. Goal 1 is No Poverty. Goal 11 is Sustainable Cities. Goal 12 is Responsible Consumption. All of them meet at one truth: we must stop treating waste as dirt and start treating it as wealth. In a circular economy, food waste becomes compost and biogas. Plastic becomes raw material for local factories. Discards become jobs. At SWEEP Foundation NG, we call this THE BUSINESS IN WASTE BUSINESS. Every tonne recycled creates more jobs than landfilling. That is direct poverty reduction. That is hunger relief.”
The waste management expert also speaks on the role of activists in championing good governance in the country.
“Kanu, Sowore and VDM have done what every democracy needs. They have refused to let leaders sleep. They amplify the pain of the people. That is activism’s job. But Democracy Day 2026 must move us from protest to prototypes. From anger to alternatives.
“Solutions activism means we criticise failure, praise progress, but always propose a way forward. We are training youth to sort waste and earn income. We run a Materials Recovery Facility in Surulere to prove communities can turn trash into cash. Activists open the door. The government must walk through with policy, budget and institutions.
“None of this works without peace. No farmer will plant if bandits control the farm. No recycler will invest if trucks are attacked on the highway. No mother will sort waste if her community is under siege. Hunger and poverty will keep spiralling until Nigeria guarantees Peace, Security and Strong Institutions.
“The government must restore safety so farmers return to land without fear. It must resolve herder-farmer conflicts through law and dialogue, not violence. Highways must be safe for food and recyclables to move. Environmental workers and activists must work without threats. Environmental security is food security is national security.
“Beyond safety, Nigeria needs institutions with teeth. We need a Ministry of Environment and Waste Resources at federal and state levels, with budget and mandate. Agencies like LAWMA and NESREA must be independent and empowered to enforce rules fairly, whether you are powerful or poor. When institutions are weak, hunger grows and bandits govern. When institutions are strong, justice grows and development follows.
“Nnamdi Kanu, Sowore and VDM are searching for good governance. Millions of Nigerians are searching with them, mostly with empty stomachs and heavy hearts. The answer is not in cycles of protest and crackdown. The answer is in connecting the dots.
“The government must guarantee peace so farmers can farm and end hunger. It must strengthen institutions so rules work and poverty reduces. It must invest in sustainable development and the circular economy so waste becomes jobs and wealth. Activists must keep pushing but push solutions too. Citizens must own their streets, sort their waste and demand accountability.
“Imagine a Nigeria where a child eats before going to school. Where a graduate earns a living from recycling. Where a farmer in Zamfara or Plateau harvests without fear. Where Surulere is clean because waste is wealth. That is the Nigeria June 12 sacrificed for. That is the good governance we are all searching for. Happy Democracy Day, Nigeria.”
