NAN-H-80
Food
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Oct. 10, 2016 (NAN) Dr Samuel Emeka, the Prelate, Methodist Church of Nigeria, has called on the Federal Government to ban the importation of foreign foods into the country to encourage local food production.
Emeka, who made the call during the presentation of the communiqué for the 45th/10th Biennial Conference of the Church on Monday in Abuja, said Nigeria had enough food.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was to honour capable men and women that are ready to portray and carry out God’s work diligently.
He advised government to work hard to diversify the country’s economy by producing instead of foreign intake of foods that might bring about health issues to the citizens.
He added that “I want government to ban foreign foods; we have enough food that will nurture us and make us proper Africans.
“I believe it is these foreign foods that cause diabetes, hypertension and other diseases; let us
produce our own food and eat.
“Our fathers were close to nature and they lived longer but since we started eating foreign foods,
we have been dying prematurely.”
The Prelate also called for the establishment of cattle ranches in the country instead of grazing reserves which he said could still bring about lost of lives.
He added that creating ranches was a global phenomenon, citing the UK, America and South Korea as places where animals were not allowed to move around.
According to him, animals are kept in a place where they are nourished and nurtured to become
of economic value.
Emeka, however, called on Christians and Muslims to be major agents of national rebirth not agents of disintegration, adding that the government should ensure that no religion was promoted above the other.
He also advised that religious leaders should play advisory roles to government on issues of national unity and development, noting that “God did not make a mistake in making Nigeria as
one nation.
“It is our duty as religious leaders to bring stability to Nigeria, to promote national rebirth, nation cohesion, national integration, to promote love and unity, tolerance, forbearance among our people.
“The conference appeals for tolerance and harmony among the various faiths with a view to using religion as instrument for peace.
“Unity does not mean uniformity but what makes unity to be very rewarding is the various colours.
“We need to be together in order to build a virile nation.’’ (NAN)
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)