By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko
Yesterday, Sunday, I, my wife Ugochi who is a dietitian, Nneoma Chisom Onwubiko my little daughter, drove my only son Nnadozie to a secondary school dormitory somewhere within the Federal Capital Territory, where he is to begin his first experience of boarding school in his second year of secondary education.
I had strongly opposed sending my son to a boarding facility, given my own experience as a day student at Kafanchan Teachers College, which, during the period I attended it, operated as both a day and boarding school. I did not particularly enjoy the food served to my contemporaries at the time, which was in the mid-to-late 1980s. As day students, many of us stayed back until our evening preparatory period so that we could eat with our mates who were boarding students.
The food was not particularly bad because the Kaduna State Government had, at the time, equipped the school with competent cooks and supervisors.
But as someone who was somewhat “spoilt” at home with a variety of foods prepared by my mother, I used to pretend that the food served to my classmates and other boarding students was not sufficiently rich in nutritious ingredients.
I now know that I was wrong. Having worked as a journalist in the field during the late Muhammadu Buhari administration and witnessed the controversies surrounding public officials involved in the Federal Government’s school-feeding programmes under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, I now realise that, when compared with some of the food served to students decades ago, the meals served to boarding students at Kafanchan Teachers College could comfortably be described as Christmas meals.
My main concern, therefore, was what kind of food my son would be fed in this Catholic Church-run private school.
I must state that although the school is owned by the Church, it is comparatively expensive to pay for a child to attend. I therefore asked my wife whether she had gone through the school’s feeding timetable to determine whether our son, Naetochukwu Nnadozie, would enjoy a balanced diet while in the school as a boarding student.
She said she hoped they would not disappoint in that regard.
I was deeply thinking about this issue when news emerged that the United Kingdom Government had just announced a new policy on secondary-school feeding.
The emerging news, which Sky News television carried on its midday bulletin, was to the effect that deep-fried food would be banned and desserts reduced under new school-dinner rules.
Sugary drinks, ice cream and waffles will be limited, along with pizzas, sausages and other foods high in fat and salt, while lentils and chickpeas will appear on menus at least once a week. Vegetables or salad should also be served as part of every main meal.
According to Sky News, Monday, September 14, 2026, schools in England will stop offering pupils deep-fried foods such as chips and cut down on desserts in reforms aimed at tackling childhood obesity and tooth decay.
Sugary drinks and foods such as ice cream and waffles will be limited, while puddings will have to contain or be served with fruit under the first new school-food standards introduced in more than a decade.
Pizzas, sausages and other foods high in fat and salt will also be restricted in favour of fibrous whole grains and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas, which will appear on school menus at least once a week.
A portion of vegetables or salad should accompany, or be incorporated into, every main meal under the new Department for Education guidelines, published on Monday.
The measures, which come as all pupils in England from families receiving Universal Credit become eligible for free school meals, will take effect a year from now, with secondary schools given until September 2028 to implement some of the changes.
Around one in three children are leaving primary school overweight or obese, while tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged five to nine.
Schools will have to publish their menus and food policies online and will be expected to nominate a school food governor who will hold schools to account for the meals on offer.
Chef Jamie Oliver, who has campaigned on the issue for more than two decades, said: “It’s brilliant to see new school food standards based on the latest science, to make sure the food children get at school is actually supporting their health and helping them thrive.”
Dame Emma Thompson, who works with the Food Foundation charity, described the reforms as “a milestone worth celebrating and an investment in a healthier future for the next generation”.
Schools Minister Georgia Gould told Mornings With Ridge and Frost that parents are “really concerned about the amount of nutrition their children are getting”.
The changes are designed to make school meals “healthier and tastier”, providing an opportunity “to make sure that children are able to focus on lessons and setting them up for a healthier future”, she added.
However, unions warned that the plans would require additional funding.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The current funding rate for free school meals is not enough to cover costs and many schools have to divert money from teaching and learning.”
Matt Vickers, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Our Armed Forces are crumbling, but Andy Burnham has decided his priority is taking pudding off the menu.
“The only thing wobblier than Andy Burnham’s defence policy is the jelly he’s trying to ban.”
What about Nigeria?
Here in my country, there is a national agency created to monitor and regulate the quality and safety of foods and other products consumed by Nigerians. It was established in 1992 during the military administration of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and is known as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Among its principal mandates, NAFDAC is responsible for protecting public health by ensuring that regulated products are safe and properly controlled. Its responsibilities cover products such as food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices, as well as the regulation of their manufacture, importation and distribution.
But, truth be told, it was particularly during the administration of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, when Professor Dora Akunyili was Director-General of NAFDAC, that the agency shook the foundations of Nigeria’s drug-manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry.
NAFDAC has, however, not appeared to have given sufficient attention to the monitoring and regulation of foods produced and distributed for consumption by Nigerian pupils and students in primary and secondary schools.
In November 2017, the then Governor of Borno State, who is now the Vice President of Nigeria, Mr Kashim Shettima, brought the issue of the poor quality of food served to pupils and students to national attention.
Shettima and School Feeding
Then Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State even visited schools to taste the quality of food served to boarding students.
Mr Shettima said at the time that he would engage student “spies” to monitor the quality of meals being served in the dining halls of 78 secondary schools across the state.
The governor’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, said in a statement that Mr Shettima intended to engage student spies who would send him text messages and contact him through social media platforms to provide information about the quality of meals being served in their dining halls.
He said the move was necessitated by a decline in the quality of food served to boarding students, adding that a special committee had been established to improve feeding standards in the schools.
The governor said the state government had increased the monthly allocation for feeding boarding students from N20 million to N100 million in an effort to improve the quality of food served in schools.
Mr Gusau said the governor was disappointed when he paid an unscheduled visit to a secondary school and discovered that the meals being served fell below the standard he had established since 2012.
“Following his discovery, Shettima decided to reconstitute a 17-member feeding committee, responsible for procurement of foodstuff, distribution to schools, monitoring of cooks and the quality of food being served,” he said.
He said the committee comprised government officials and representatives of NGOs, adding that Mr Shettima had promised to assist the committee in accomplishing its aims and objectives.
“Apart from approving funds, I will also help you to do your job. Do not feel that I am being suspicious.
“I do visit schools, but this time around, I will give some students my phone numbers to communicate directly with me.
“They will give me updates on the quality of meals they are being served henceforth.
“As committee members, you should address the principals and call them to order. I urge you to directly procure the foodstuff and give it to the principals of our respective boarding secondary schools.
“It is within your mandate to hire and pay the salaries of cooks where there is a shortage of kitchen personnel. I want all of you to work hard.
“I want you to deal with two or three principals who short-changed students in their feeding.
“Education is very important to the development of any society, and we owe an obligation to humanity and posterity to fix public schools in Borno.
“With the way we are building schools, some people feel we are crazy because they forget that Boko Haram has taken our education backwards and created thousands of school-age children who are out of school.
“We are buying land, we are buying premises and building schools on them, and we will make these schools function effectively,” he added.
The School-Feeding Controversy
The deterioration continued, just as allegations of corruption became a major issue during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
There were controversies surrounding the Federal Government’s school-feeding programme, including allegations concerning the administration and expenditure of funds meant for feeding schoolchildren during the COVID-19 lockdown, when pupils and most citizens, except essential workers, were restricted to their homes.
The school-feeding programme subsequently became the subject of intense public controversy, with allegations that billions of naira meant for the programme may have been mismanaged.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also declared the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation wanted for questioning in connection with allegations relating to financial misconduct and the management of funds within the ministry.
NAFDAC Must Do More
To conclude, I would urge Vice President Kashim Shettima to support reforms that would strengthen NAFDAC and ensure that the right calibre of chief executive and senior management personnel are appointed to positions within the agency.
NAFDAC should pay greater attention to the quality, nutritional value and safety of food consumed by Nigerian children, particularly those living in boarding schools.
This is not merely a question of food. It is a question of public health, child welfare and the future of Nigeria’s younger generation.
If the United Kingdom can review its school-food standards to address childhood obesity, nutrition and tooth decay, Nigeria should also be asking fundamental questions about the quality and nutritional value of meals served to children in our schools.
Parents and Teachers Associations (PTAs) in Nigerian schools must also become more active in monitoring the welfare and wellbeing of their children.
Parents should not simply pay school fees and assume that everything is being done properly. They have a legitimate interest in knowing what their children eat, the nutritional quality of the food, the hygiene of the kitchens and dining halls, and the general sanitation conditions in boarding facilities.
The welfare of children must remain a collective responsibility.
NAFDAC, school authorities, state governments, parents and PTAs must therefore work together to ensure that no Nigerian child is deprived of nutritious, safe and hygienically prepared food while pursuing an education.
After all, a child cannot learn effectively on an empty stomach, nor can a nation build a healthy future on poorly nourished children.
EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO is the founder of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and was a National Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.
