Daniel Otera
When the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security announced a schedule of fasting and prayer sessions to seek divine intervention amid Nigeria’s deepening hunger crisis, the response was far from the solemn reverence the organisers may have envisioned. Instead, the announcement ignited a storm of public outrage, ridicule, and disbelief. Within days, the Ministry quietly reversed course, suspending the sessions without explanation.
Yet the uproar has not faded, it has merely evolved into a broader concern: why is a critical policy institution resorting to spiritual gestures in the face of a worsening food emergency?
A leaked internal circular dated 11 June 2025, signed by Director of Human Resource Management, Mrs Adedayo Modupe O., had instructed all staff including directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, and value chain desk officers to attend prayer sessions on three consecutive Mondays: June 16, 23, and 30. Themed “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development,” the memo also instructed participants to fast while gathering at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
“This is to invite all staff… to a solemn prayer session for God’s guidance and success in supporting the government’s efforts to achieve food security,” the circular read.
Before the first session could commence, however, a follow-up memo abruptly postponed the initiative “until further notice,” offering no reasons. The reversal came in the wake of a digital outcry, as screenshots of the circular went viral across social media, drawing disbelief, satire, and condemnation.
Critics were swift to call out what they viewed as a dangerous conflation of spirituality and governance especially amid a crisis requiring urgent policy intervention. Millions of Nigerians are battling rising food prices, collapsing purchasing power, and persistent insecurity across farming regions.
According to the March 2025 Cadre Harmonisé food security analysis, more than 32 million Nigerians across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory are projected to face acute food insecurity between June and August 2025.
Additionally, 2.4 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, while 1.1 million pregnant and lactating women are also at serious nutritional risk.
The root causes of this crisis are far from mysterious. Armed conflict and banditry continue to displace farmers. Inflation and exchange rate volatility have made food production and imports more expensive. Agricultural investment remains low, with poor mechanisation and irrigation infrastructure further worsening the situation. Climate change is also disrupting rainfall patterns and harvest cycles.
Given these clear drivers, the Ministry’s spiritual overture raised deeper questions about institutional focus. Many Nigerians asked: Where are the policy tools and budgetary mechanisms meant to address these systemic failures?
Despite years of government pledges to transform agriculture, Nigeria continues to lag behind regional counterparts in critical benchmarks such as mechanisation, yield per hectare, and irrigation coverage. According to reports by BusinessDay and Punch, the country’s mechanisation rate remains at a paltry 0.27 horsepower per hectare, well below the 1.5 hp/ha recommended by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
This has left most Nigerian farmers dependent on manual labour and traditional tools, leading to low productivity, high post-harvest losses, and poor competitiveness.
In the 2025 national budget, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was allocated ₦636 billion, amounting to 1.28% of the total federal budget. But a closer look reveals that much of this sum is absorbed by recurrent expenditures salaries, overheads, conferences, and consultancy contracts. Just ₦132.3 billion was earmarked for the National Agricultural Development Fund, which is meant to serve millions of farmers nationwide.
Worse still, independent tracking shows that actual budget utilisation for capital projects in agriculture often falls below 20%, limiting the impact of planned interventions. Inflation and exchange rate pressures further erode the value of whatever resources are eventually disbursed.
Perhaps the most debilitating factor in Nigeria’s food crisis is the unrelenting insecurity that has paralysed rural farming communities across the North and Middle Belt.
Between January and May 2025, violent incidents linked to banditry, insurgency, and communal clashes were recorded in Zamfara, Kaduna, Borno, Niger, and Plateau States. In May alone, over 23 farmers and fishermen were killed in separate attacks by suspected insurgents in Borno. In Benue, at least 42 people were killed during herder-related violence in Ukum and Gwer East LGAs.
A 2024 report by the Nigerian Security Tracker and SBM Intelligence found that 1,356 farmers were killed between 2020 and 2024 in violent incidents, with the highest toll recorded in the North-West and North-Central zones. These attacks have not only disrupted farming activity but also spiked food inflation by choking rural supply chains.
“Without securing rural communities, no meaningful agricultural progress can take place,” one commentary in Premium Times argued. Displaced communities miss entire planting seasons. Food transport becomes perilous. Humanitarian aid becomes the only lifeline. These are policy challenges not prayer points.
Reactions to the prayer circular have ranged from satirical to deeply frustrated.
One user wrote:
“From being Africa’s top rice producer to scheduling fasting in government buildings—it’s one step forward, two steps backward.”
Another lamented:
“Ordinary pepper is out of reach. It’s shameful that government officials are praying instead of protecting farmers.”
While some responses descended into ethnic sentiments, most reflected genuine concern about institutional accountability. What is the Ministry’s actual performance track record? How many farmers have received seeds, inputs, or training this year? What’s being done to restore farmland access in conflict-affected regions?
There is, of course, no constitutional prohibition on prayer in public institutions. In a deeply religious country like Nigeria, spirituality often coexists with governance. But the line between cultural inspiration and abdication of policy responsibility must not be blurred.
By resorting to fasting and prayer without simultaneously rolling out new strategies or support schemes, the Ministry risked trivialising a national emergency.
Perhaps more damaging is the message this action sends across government: that public relations and symbolism can substitute for action. That ceremonies can replace delivery.
The questions now hanging in the air are unavoidable: What tangible results have emerged from the Ministry’s multibillion-naira allocations?
Where is the accountability for under-implementation of agricultural schemes?
What is being done to tackle climate threats, post-harvest losses, and food import dependence?
How is the Ministry coordinating with security forces to return farmers to their lands?
The hunger crisis afflicting Nigeria is not new. Nor is it immune to solutions. Think tanks such as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and Brookings Institution have repeatedly urged reforms, transparent budgeting, investment in rural infrastructure, insurance schemes for farmers, and multi-sectoral collaboration.
These are the tools Nigeria already possesses. But deploying them requires political will, institutional discipline, and coherent strategy, not just spiritual appeals.
Faith can offer hope. But feeding a nation demands more than hope; it demands hard decisions, grounded planning, and courageous leadership.
Until Nigeria’s agricultural policy is driven by these principles, the country may find itself praying over problems it already has the capacity to solve.
