Some Nigerians in the northeastern state of Borno are fasting to seek for divine help in solving the country’s worsening economic and security situations.
On Friday, Governor Babagana Zulum urged residents to partake in a one-day statewide fast on Monday. This is in response to the steep rise in cost of food and the spate of landmine explosions across its major roads.
Nigerians are going through one of the country’s roughest economic periods in history with the prices of food and basic items have skyrocketed in recent months.
Food inflation has increased by 53 percent between December 2022 and December 2023. The price of onion has gone up by 123 %, yams by 92 %, and rice by 81 %.
Some governors from the largest opposition party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have called on President Tinubu to resign if he could not tackle the country’s economic challenges.
“President Tinubu is not and will never be overwhelmed by the current challenges the country is facing. He will not abdicate his responsibilities,” they said in a statement.
But Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has dismissed the calls for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu as “an attempt at distraction”.
On Monday, Bello Zabarmari, a resident of Borno state, told the BBC that he and many others are fasting and praying to God to solve their problems.
“We woke up with a fast today and hopefully all our prayers will be answered soon, the governor did the right thing by calling on people to fast,” he said.
Umar Shehu, a resident who works with the state fire service department, said he and his colleagues are also fasting, as instructed by the governor.
Four dead, several others hospitalised while ‘fasting to meet Jesus’
Source: Africafeeds.com
