Stephen Morse - Social Networks and Food Security in the Urban Fringe

The theme of this monograph superficially resembles that of a famous Hollywood movie released in 2010 entitled The Social Network. The movie covers the creation of Facebook, the famous social networking service, by its founder Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook along with other services such as Twitter are virtually ubiquitous today and many have enjoyed and benefited from the enhanced communication they provide; they have transformed the lives of many for better. On the more negative side, some would consider them as notorious given the rise of fake news and trolling whereby people who remain anonymous can hurt and even threaten the lives of strangers they do not like or disagree with.

But while this book is also about social groups and their networking, the similarity with the movie ends there. The context for the social groups and networks covered in this monograph is a far cry from the origins of Facebook, but they nonetheless share one of the basic tenets which is the very essence of being humancommunication. Humans are social animals and communication is a must. Facebook and Twitter are about communication at all levels, from friends to colleagues to strangers, and are digital in nature, facilitated by electronic devices that allow for a truly global village. This book is also concerned about communication, and some of what is covered does indeed include media such as Facebook and Twitter, but the context is the role that social groups can play within sustainable development or, more precisely, food security in the urban hinterland of a new capital city in a developing county.

Nigeria, West Africa, is a country of many faces and contradictions. Nigerians are hospitable and welcoming people, always willing to help the stranger as well as their neighbours. Their country is one of the wealthiest (if not the wealthiest) countries in Sub-Saharan Africa based on measures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but is also a country with much poverty and unemployment, especially among the burgeoning youth population. It is country covered in rich and varied vegetation, from mangrove and oil palm forests in the south through to savannah in the North and has as well two major rivers (Niger and Benue) within its borders that provide a wealth of services and resources. Agriculture is a way of life for most of its people, and the crops and trees produced there are in many ways the envy of the continent. To crown it all, the country is endowed with rich and high-quality oil and gas reserves off its coastline. While much of the developed world endeavours to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, Nigeria has reaped untold financial benefits since the discovery of oil there in the 1950s and this windfall had the potential to transform the countrys economy. Few other countries are so blessed.

But despite this legacy Nigeria is also a country with much poverty and food insecurity; with people struggling to produce enough food to eat and surplus to sell. It is bedevilled with violent crime, armed robbery, kidnapping and corruption at all levels and the country is in the throes of an insurgency led by Islamic extremists. Corruption is now endemic and has retarded progress. The youth have been consistently ignored and unemployment is rife. Unsurprisingly, given this background, the need to support agriculture and address food insecurity in a sustainable manner has been high on the to do list of successive governments, be they colonial, military or civilian, dating back to the nineteenth century. The problem is certainly not a deficit of words and promises from politicians and leaders who understand the situation only too well; words and promises are still being proclaimed and not a day passes without a speech from a senior official extolling the virtues of farming and self-reliance and repeating (yet again) the mantra that government is fully behind them and offering every known support. If words could be sown, then Nigeria would be the breadbasket of the continent; producing enough to supply everyone with a balanced diet and enjoying a massive surplus for export. But unfortunately, words and promises have counted for very little, and agriculture remains a Cinderella sector completely overlooked and forgotten in favour of the more lucrative oil and gas sector. Therein rests the problem and the result has been a sustained insecurity.