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Nigeria, India begins advanced millet production to tackle food insecurity

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Indian and Nigeria Flags

Nigeria and India have unveiled an advanced millet producing strategy and advocacy to increase millet production to tackle the looming global food insecurity and improving nutritional values.

Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gangadharan Balasubramanian and Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Abubakar, made this known during the commemoration of the International Year of Millet (IYM 2023) organised by the Indian High Commission, Abuja.

The duo said that knowing the health and nutritional benefit of millet, both countries had keyed into the UN declaration of the IYM 2023 to increase production of the grain and create more awareness on the benefits.

Balasubramanian said that India had already taken innovative steps to increasing millet production and with close partnership with Nigeria.

“The International year of Millet was proposed by the government of India at the United Nations and I am very happy to say that Nigeria was one of the eight countries which have co-sponsored this resolution.

“Supported by seventy other people and subsequently was unanimously agreed by the united Nations to announce 2023 as the international year of millet.

“The government of India is very keen, is very conscious. We have a separate millet imitative that has started, various research programmes are going on, various support systems are being put in place.

“Farmers are being taught, there are a lot of activities that are taking place in terms of improving and providing the millets to the general populations.

“Nigeria is one of the major five millets producing countries and it is pertinent to note that India and Nigeria will come together in celebrating this.

“This cooking and food festival is only to showcase that it will be possible for us to have all the kinds of items that we consume on a daily basis which can be replaced by millets also.

“This is just the beginning, we will be having a conclave of meetings between Indian and Nigerian stakeholders in millet production, whether it is the agro-tech, the farmers, or the extension services that will be provided,” Balasubramanian said.

Abubakar said that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been promoting millet production and value addition towards self-sufficiency and meeting industrial requirements in the country.

Abubakar who was represented by Engr. Abdullahi Abubakar, a Director in the Ministry said that all hands must be on deck in other for Nigeria to achieve the set goal.

“Presently, millet in Nigeria has not met the national demand and it is attributed to low productivity of the crop.

“Our national demand for millet as at 2022 was 6.4 million metric tons, while our national production is only two million metric tonnes.

“This low productivity can be caused by local potential of the crop’s variety, application of poor agronomic practices, depleted soil, climate change or aggrégation of these factors.

“The ministry is in deer need to increase the productivity of the crop so as to enhance farmers income and attract more youths into millet cultivation and meet our national demand and industrial demand and contribute to the growth of the GDP.

“This event is as well to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerian millet farmers to adopt good agronomic practices to improve the livelihood of farmers and the GDP of Nigeria

“I want to assure you that the Ministry will cooperate with you to ensure that no stone is lefty unturned until Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in millet production in the nearest future,” Abubakar said.

Also speaking, the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar said that the event is the beginning of a great journey between both countries to producing a crop which will be of immense benefit to humanity.

“I am sure this is just the beginning of our journey towards achieving our desired food security,” he said

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was marked with the Millet Food Festival and Cooking Competition was organised by the High Commission in collaboration with the Niger State government.

(NAN)

 

 

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General News

Clergy Urged To Put Members’ Welfare Above All Else

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At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.

Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.

Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.

In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.

The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.

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1,000 Prayer Warriors Storm Ilorin for Tinubu, Nation’s Deliverance

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.

The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”

Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.

Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.

“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”

The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.

Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.

With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.

 

 

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Nigerian Anglicans Condemn Lesbian Archbishop of Wales, Deepening Global Anglican Rift

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…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”

The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.

In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.

The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).

“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.

 

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