OIC FOOD SECURITY PROJECT: ISLAMIZATION AGENDA AND MATTERS ARISING

Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

Accusations and its counters trail our membership of OIC. Opinions are divided regarding who enlisted us in the organization but that isn’t our headache for now. Suspicion has marked our lives and faith as the family of Christ in Nigeria. Existentially, we are no doubt threatened species, hunted like sparrows in Southern Kaduna and all states in Northern Nigeria.

We are rendered homeless on our ancestral lands for refusing a policy that suggests advantage given to migrating tribes from outside Nigeria. We were fore-warned by Femi Adesina our brother in the faith and pastor in the making, but we took the counsel of a man worthy to be the President’s mouthpiece for granted and didn’t forearm ourselves. We are victims of our distractions more than that of the intentions of our oppressors. Are we up against an organised international agenda? Yet disunited, disorganized Mammon-influenced Ministries and showing no concern!

In the week leading to Christmas was the massacre in Kaura town, in Kaduna State few days to Christmas, which fell on a Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were the Christmas holidays. Rumour had it that the land grabbing beast of a bill that sought to take the land away from the people was going to be visiting the House of Representatives on Wednesday, 28th December to run President Buhari’s errands knowing majority of Christian lawmakers were going to be away to their villages, was Gideon Gwani the minority Whip in Kaura like several of his colleagues in the National Assembly?

News also broke same week ahead of Christmas of OIC and its food security programme for our beloved country. Like an orchestra band the rhythm was too coordinated to be mistaken for what it was and if it is, it is by the mischievous who have chosen to the faith and exchange the master for money like Judas!

2023 is rounding up with OIC showing us love that Nigeria; will be the Egypt from where all hungry nations from the Sahel will come to get grains for their hungry citizens in the West African sub-region, a planned famine, not in a dream of our Pharaoh is looming.

Prejudice aside, OIC food hub is a welcome development. International organizations should seek the welfare of its members and Nigeria is a member of OIC, an organization formed by member countries in their reaction to unfair treatment they were getting from organizations serving the interest of western “Christian” organisations such as UN and the Commonwealth. Well, it doesn’t take a christian to know how well christened these organizations are in name and operations, but far from faith. Nothing institutionalized godlessness like either!

We, as Christians may never have the luxury of an organization of Christian countries, but we at least have a local relief, if it will be pragmatic and serve its purpose.

Christian Association of Nigeria has no local rivalry, except of course if there is one and I don’t know. There is no Muslim Association of Nigeria, MAN, but the gate of the nation is competently manned in protection of Muslims by the Royal and Spiritual Seat of the Sultan. On a lighter note, I wish we can fashion a throne that’s as strong in our political space to look out for Christians and our interests in Nigeria like that of the Sultan with a personality like Governor Wike sitting on it!

A lot of people have been threatened by the “audacity” of ART. But ART is only a table not an association, a table where existential issues of social consequences and of our spiritual awakening are discussed.

I need to bring to your notice the decision of OIC in view of which I will make some recommendations. In hope that for once, the Church will rise to the challenge and be proactive and pragmatic to save her own in the season of famine for which OIC has spotted and Nigeria partnering to end 2022 with a Muslim & Muslim interest vested policy.

*Nigeria to serve as food storage hub for Organisation of Islamic Countries* published by The Guardian, Nigeria on December 22, 2022 (5:16 AM).

It further reads, “Nigeria has been selected by the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to serve as a hub for food and grain storage for its member countries.

The Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Abdullahi Abubakar, a Tera and Hausa speaking settler of North East Nigeria, disclosed this in Abuja on the 21st of December 2022 at the sidelines of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) Regional Training Workshop on *’Strategic Planning and Policy Development in Food Security*’.

He said the OIC Secretariat would mobilise resources, food commodities and grains and store them in the various silos in Nigeria for onward distribution to countries in need of them.
According to him, the selection is apt as the country already has over 36 strategic grain reserves across the country. Even though some have been concessioned, he added, it still has seven that are under the supervision and control of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture!

“All the member countries of OIC selected Nigeria as the storage hub. The Secretariat of the OIC will garner the resources, buy the grains and store them in Nigeria *so that in the event of any food insecurity*, *we can distribute them from Nigeria to other places*,” he said.

He continued: “In Nigeria, we have been given the centre of excellence for cassava’ [let me ask, is it for garri?], ‘we are trying to see how we can also develop palm oil, rice and other commodities… In Nigeria, we have done our homework. We are just waiting for the end of this workshop to give us a marching order. The marching order is that we have already selected sites, we have liaised with the National Root Crop Research Institute, Umudike. We have sited the station in Kuru, Jos, all these are criteria and milestones they wanted us to identify.
“Another proposal that is on the table, which we hope this workshop will rectify, is for us to have a strategic food reserve system. We want to have a hub of grains and all sort of food commodities that are going to be used by the West African region in Nigeria.”

*The Director General of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), Yerlan Baidaulet, said the body is to see that food systems worldwide are capable of addressing the problems of access to food and adequate nutrition*.

He added: “The event is being organised under the IOFS *‘Year of Africa’* *with “the key objective to build the capacity of government officials on basics and practices of strategy development, legislation improvement, creation of government inter-sectoral mechanisms (high-level council/commission) on food security.*”
Please, note the emphasis in bold print, they are mine though. What a beautiful coincidence; “the Year of Africa”, for which Water Resource Bill is needed to acquire land to farm grains that will be stored and distributed by OIC to ameliorate food insecurity in the midst of our national insecurities resulting from forceful need of land for cattle and farming for immigrants in need of land. FG’s Water Resources Bill and OIC’s Food Security project are fantastic hand-in-glove policies in the interest of Muslim/Muslim, I mean Muslims in Nigeria and Muslims from the Sahel.

There is a prayer commonly said among the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria by, Muslims, Christians and even traditionalists, which is, Olorun maje ki nje ounje ota mi, sugbon ore re o d’ana! (roughly translated: “God forbid that I eat my enemy’s food but, your friend didn’t prepare any food!”)

Wednesday 28th of December came and the errand bill from the presidency showed up in the green chamber of the national assembly. The meal for 200 million people was cooked and served in form of 2023 budget. But the Southern and Middlebelt legislators sat and refused to leave the kitchen until the fire in the stove was put off. With recess declaration came the assurance that the “legislative magic” has been castrated for now.

There is no Organization of Christian Countries for us to take Nigeria to. Consequently there is no Director General of Organization of Christian Countries for Food Security. But we have Christian Association of Nigeria, that must take a lesson from our Representatives and think out of the box; Rise to the occasion and plan ahead for Christians in Nigeria! We aren’t subservient, and must not be left to the mercy of a planned hunger revolution.

We must therefore factor in hunger elimination in our drive for Church missions and ministry expansion projects.

Feeding the hungry must become a ministry in our churches to save adherents of our faith from starvation and food supply discriminations that may result from an OIC controlled food supply system in Nigeria!

As the saying goes; “ona ofun ni ona orun”, meaning, the road to heaven is through the throat. An effective evangelism project must take the hungry masses of our people to their desired heaven through momentary throat satisfaction while showing them kingdom’s plans of a greater tomorrow!

Let no one say we are being persecuted when this project goes full stream! The first crisis in the new testament Church was caused by distribution of food when some tribal widows were neglected and there were no Muslims in their kitchen!

We must embark on stomach infrastructure when communicating the gospel – “nitori ebi ki wo inu ki oro mi wo” meaning hunger doesn’t share the mind – if we want the attention of the minds of the masses that the oligarchy has tied down for a purpose!

We must get rid of hunger; their shackles of poverty and adopted political decisions executed in pretentious ineptness to deceive only the undiscerning!

With 135 million people living below poverty level, the field is made mature by “crafty policies”, for time like this to put in the sickle of food to harvest the souls of men!

This morning after our morning devotion my wife called my attention to a post, which brought my spirit into a struggle with my soul.

*”From Cairo to Alexander in Egypt, you’d see nothing but CROP FARMS left & right.
*From LAGOS to IBADAN, places of worship left, right & center.
*Continue, we will eat MIRACLES”* – Daniel Oghenebrorhie.

Adedamola Adetayo, who quoted Oghenebrorhie, went further to list churches with large prayer land on Lagos Ibadan Expressway, while I may not agree with his views communicated in the post that has gone viral on WhatsApp, I am compelled to give advice to those concerned and other churches at large to borrow a leaf from Living Faith Ministry led by Bishop David Oyedepo to invest in food production and Agriculture.

We need Men and Ministries who will lead the nation in wealth creation by stepping into Agricultural production and its chain value.

Had the controversial water resource bill sailed through while Christian Reps were on Christmas holiday, the land needed for irrigation farming system all year round would have legally become eternal property of the tribe that subscribes to OIC in Nigeria! Many thanks to our vigilant Representatives; time for Legislative Revolution Network is now!

Please, add one plus one and see where this is coming from and where it is going!

The joy of the season is restored; a very Happy Sunday and a Merry New Year I say!