ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Bishop Deborah Macfoy Akachukwu, the spiritual leader of the Revival City International Retreat and Conference Centre, Enugu, spoke passionately about the economic hardships facing Nigeria and the dangers of potential protests escalating into violence.
As a way forward, she called on the Federal Government of Nigeria, the international community, and stakeholders to commit resources to prevent a economic crisis and hunger.
The cleric recounts the ominous warnings she received, which she described as a divine revelation from God signaling the encroaching famine. According to her, the revelation birthed the free medical outreach, outreach meal and food storage through which foods are sold at subsidised prices.
She said, “The truth is that for me, we actually entered into outreaches out of a pain. I know the Lord has spoken to me that famine was coming.
“The truth is that for me, we actually entered into it out of a pain. I know the Lord has spoken to me that famine was coming. I mean, by this time last year, things are not as bad as it was. So, He has been talking to us about storage of food and creating a home where people can be taken care of. It was then we are trying to get it started.
“As at that time. I think something like fio fio was like 100k was about N70, 000 but today it is about N140,000 a bag. When a bag is around 140,000, that means if you bring out 10 bags, that is 1.4 million. Is that a joke? If you bring out like 30 bags of grain multiply it, you are looking at almost 4.5 million.”
Bishop Deborah who made the call during an interview with journalists in Enugu, emphasized the need for urgent action to address food insecurity and rising prices, highlighting the projected increase in the number of Nigerians at risk of hunger.
READ ALSO: Protesters Hit Lagos Streets Amid Economic Hardship
Drawing attention to the factors driving this alarming trend, including conflict, climatic changes, and inflation, Bishop Deborah stressed the importance of food security and nutritional support, especially for vulnerable populations like children.
Despite the challenges, Bishop Deborah expressed hope and faith in God’s guidance, advocating for peace and dialogue instead of violence.
She emphasized the importance of prayer and community support, citing initiatives at her retreat center to provide subsidized meals and accommodations for those who come for camping and prayers.
Reflecting on the significance of maintaining peace and stability, Bishop Deborah warned against the devastating consequences of war, both in terms of human lives lost and economic devastation. She emphasized the need for dialogue and negotiation to address underlying grievances and ensure a peaceful resolution to conflicts.
“Continued conflict, climatic changes, inflation, and rising food prices are key drivers of this alarming trend.
“It’s been my biggest cry and prayer, that there should never be a war, a situation where there will be a revolution and the people will lose control and they will start to destroy, damaging things because they have seen that things have become so hopeless and there is no help coming from anywhere and they will consider everything is bad, let us spoil everything.
“But that’s how it escalates. Most times, it turns into something else before you know it. I will ask people if this thing should happen now, from here to Nite Mile, where are you running to? Do we have any bush anybody can hide? Can you escape? Where are you even running to now? Where are you going to hide? We have over 200 million Nigerians”, she stated.
Despite the challenges, Bishop Deborah expressed hope and faith in God’s guidance, advocating for peace and dialogue instead of violence.
The woman of God said, “We need to settle things. There must be a room at a time that will be given for some level of improvement.
READ ALSO: Light-Up Nigeria Project New Dawn For Power In South East – Mbah
“Nothing has ever been restored by destroying what you already have, especially if there will be a room for dialogue, and we know that something has been destroyed over a long time.
“Whatever we see in Nigeria today is something that if you go back to the history, from 1967, everything they are fighting for is what we are still fighting for. And from that war till now, nothing has changed. Has anything changed? Have we politically improved from where we are? Has a military given us a better chance from where we are? So all that losses and human life are the same battle and war where we were even worse off? I mean, this is the time that we can see that we are close to power.
“This is a first time everybody in Nigeria, even outsiders, unanimous will say let an Igbo man be given a chance. It’s never happened before that an Igbo man was accepted globally, upon that we have been accepted globally, yet we are not able to take our place. I think we have a problem that we should actually allow God to guide us, we have a problem and we need guidance.”
Reflecting on the significance of maintaining peace and stability, Bishop Deborah warned against the devastating consequences of war, both in terms of human lives lost and economic devastation.
“It’s a very serious issue… People don’t have to die of hunger,” she said, emphasizing on the importance of faith, community support, and collective action in facing the challenges ahead.
In conclusion, Bishop Deborah reiterated her commitment to prayer and humanitarian efforts, urging Nigerians to come together in solidarity and compassion to overcome the current hardships. She emphasized the importance of faith, community support, and collective action in facing the challenges ahead.
“I’m an advocate of peace, an advocate of divine enablement, while we’re able to hold on ground, let there be no bloodshed, let there be no casualties or eventualities“, she said.