The Kaduna-based cleric Pastor Miracle Elijah has pleaded with public spirited Nigerians not to leave the responsibility of helping the poor solely to the government.
The cleric who said he had at some point in his lifetime experienced hunger and therefore knows what it means, stressed, “I know hunger. I have experienced it. I don’t want others to go through the same if I can help. If we can all share the little we have, Nigeria will be a better place.”
He added, “As we grow, we will not only feed people but also empower them so that they too can help others. That is how we can build a better community,” Elijah said.
In a bid to walk his talk, Elijah who is the Founder of the Rehabilitation and Hope for the Vulnerable in Africa Initiative, on Saturday, distributed foodstuffs to more than 1,000 indigent residents of Kaduna under a humanitarian outreach tagged “Operation Feed the Nation.”
“God is not religious. He gives strength to both the just and the unjust. So, He gives strength to everybody. I want to be like Him. For me, it is not about religion; it is about humanity.
“Who is the government? They are people we send there to represent us. It is what we do at the grassroots that reflects what we see up there. The government alone can not do everything.
“Even if the government sets aside N1bn today, before it gets down, the money would have gone. Giving is not only government business; it is everybody’s business,” he pointed out.
Arewa PUNCH reports that the cleric insisted that the initiative came amid rising food prices and economic hardship in the country. For many of the beneficiaries, the cartons of foodstuffs were a major relief.
However, he emphasised that the larger vision was to inspire a culture of giving across Nigeria.
The cleric also promised to scale up the outreach in December to cover school fees support and small-scale investments for families.
The outreach, which took place on August 23, 2025, brought together Christians and Muslims who benefitted from cartons of foodstuffs containing rice, beans, spaghetti, crayfish, tomato paste and seasoning cubes.
At the event, ten other beneficiaries were given N25,000 each.
Speaking shortly after the exercise, Elijah told Arewa PUNCH that his life story inspired the programme.
According to him, he once lived on Kudenda Mountain in Kaduna for months without food or shelter.
Elijah explained that the programme was his way of giving back and ensuring others did not go through what he once experienced.
He disclosed that RAHVAI plans to extend its intervention beyond food distribution to cover education and empowerment.
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