June 22, (THEWILL) – The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was recently in the news for the wrong reason. It was widely reported that it declared a three-day nationwide prayer and fasting session to seek divine intervention for national protection and food security.
According to an internal circular dated June 11, 2025, and signed by the Director of Human Resource Management, Mrs. Adedayo Modupe O, the prayer sessions were scheduled to be held at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on three consecutive Mondays—June 16, 23, and 30, 2025.
Addressed to all directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, value chain desk officers, and other staff members, the memo said the theme of the prayer is “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development.”
The circular emphasised the importance of seeking spiritual guidance amid ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to stabilise and secure the nation’s food systems.
“This is to invite all staff of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to a solemn prayer session for God’s guidance and success in supporting the government’s efforts to achieve food security,” it read.
Staff were further directed to observe a fast on each of the designated days, as part of the ministry’s call for divine assistance in confronting the country’s food security challenges.
Alarmed by public reaction to the letter, obviously leaked, because it was an internal memo, the ministry tried with negligible success to reverse itself.
Speaking on behalf of its Director of Information, Ezeaja Ikemefuna clarified that the prayer session was a welfare initiative targeted at staff morale, not an official government policy intervention.
The ministry said the prayer initiative was in response to a series of untimely deaths among senior staff members, which had sparked concern and anxiety within the ministry.
“The prayer was to address the apprehensiveness of staff over the recent untimely and successive deaths of management staff. It must be emphasised that this is NOT an official policy of the Ministry to address agricultural and food security issues in the country,” the statement read.
The ministry further noted that the prayer session was part of a broader internal welfare programme that also includes monthly aerobics, the provision of a gymnasium, and regular medical check-ups for staff.
The first memo was explicit enough to warrant any explanation as the second one sought to do. The clarification was a further exposure on how officials at the ministry think and do their work. Nowhere in this second memo that sought to clarify the previous one was a reference made to a doctor, in-house or invited, or any health expert for that matter.
So, if staff are dying for whatever reasons, it would take the prayers of staff, who are probably facing similar threats. to restore everybody to health.? Or are these officials unaware that worsened insecurity in Nigeria has impacted farming by disrupting production, hindering access to farmlands, and increasing costs, ultimately leading to food shortages and higher prices.?
Do they know that the fear of attacks, kidnapping, and banditry have been forcing farmers to abandon their land, causing reduced yields and supply chain disruptions.? Do they know that parts of Kebbi and Sokoto for example, mechanised farming are disallowed but only use cows in ploughing the land?
According to The Guardian in a recent report, insecurity in the South-West region and bandits’ invasion of the interior forests may have put about 40 percent of food produce at risk. Between October and November 2024, bandits, operating under the leadership of a notorious kingpin, known as Dantsito, one of Ado Alero’s boys, imposed a massive levy of N172,700,000 on 25 villages in Tsafe West under Tsafe Local Government area controlled by Alero, all of them farming communities
For about four years under the siege of bandits, 18 of the 25 local government areas in Niger State were completely taken over by bandits. Zamfara, Kaduna and more recently Benue and Plateau States have been afflicted. What kind of prayers do the Ministry officials expect would turn the tide in a country that has been under siege and constant attack by bandits and insurgents?
The point we are making is this. Prayer has its place, but it should be left to those versed in the art. Bureaucracy is the engine room for the deliverance of government’s projects, reforms and services to the citizenry and therefore requires critical and rational thinking devoid of emotions and guided by laid down, time-tested rules and due processes. These processes and their outcomes are measurable and can be codified and classified for future reference purposes. The ministry should stop the merry go round.
