The rapid growth in population in Nigeria exceeds growth in food production. This development poses a
great threat to national food sufficiency. The thrust of this paper is an in-depth analysis of governance
effectiveness as one of the main determinants of food security. The paper argues that the absence of good
governance has always been the bane of most of the regimes of either military or civilian administration
in Nigeria. Examining the various agricultural policies that have been instituted since 1960 till date to
resolve the problem of food insecurity we have noted that those policies failed to adequately address the
problem of food insecurity in the country due to crisis in governance which manifests itself in various
forms like poor implementation, lack of continuity of policies and programmes, problem of corruption,
high cost of governance, maladministration, lack f strong political will and commitment, and so on. The
paper therefore submits that except there is a change in the character of the Nigerian state and the
promotion of good governance, the attainment of national food sufficiency may be a mirage. The paper
however infers that if the current democratic experiment is to be nurtured and consolidated, the issue of
poor governance should be addressed to avert the recurring problem of food crisis now and in the years
to come.