From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Founder of Kify Duruji Ministries, Pastor Kify Duruji, has said that looking at happenings in the country, the nation needs help.
In this interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, Duruji said that if Nigerians will choose to retrace their steps and move in a right direction and do the right thing, all Nigerians will be happy.
Duruji spoke on this, including her pastoral and charitable activities.
Kify Duruji is an author, a preacher, a philanthropist, an entrepreneur, and speaker. How do you combine the different roles?
Aside being an entrepreneur, the other roles are destiny mandate. And I have been able to go round it because I made up my mind to fulfill that divine mandate. The roles are similar and can be coined into a singular role, which is leadership. I am working on myself in areas of discipline, integrity and selflessness (the virtues of a leader), while keeping the focus on the goal. With God on my side and dedication, I am confident I will fulfill purpose. Amongst others, I am the author of a beautiful devotional, ‘Becoming a Marvel’ powerfully put together to transform lives. And my next work, also a power packed inspirational guide, ‘The Mystery of the First Born’ is almost ready. A must read for every family and it will be on the shelves from the 1st of August, 2021, both online and in stores.
As the founder of Kify Duruji Ministries, what has been your experience so far in spreading the gospel?
The experience has been inspiring, thrilling and yet overwhelming at the same time. There are times it seems like the whole world is against you and yet another season when the whole world is under your feet. The good part of life as a minister of God’s word is being prepared for the good, the bad, the ugly, the better and also the best. It is also important to note that obeying the call of God on your life is quite different from obtaining a degree from a theology school. The call as it is, is a very serious war. You must fight to finish. It is demanding, it is herculean and it is a cross, but thank God for grace to fit into the shoe. For someone who wasn’t as religious before the calling manifested, it is actually like a thriller movie where you don’t know the twist and turns that lie ahead of you and yet, you may be privileged with the same information when it is about another. Being spiritual is a very serious journey to embark on.
With your background in modeling, pageantry, media production and events management, including business consultancy, at what point did you delve into spreading the good news of salvation?
This is a good question. I won’t say I delved into spreading the gospel (laughing). You make it sound like you are asking, when I delved into politics, because it’s not the same. Well, all my life, I have always been conscious of salvation. About delving into spreading the good news, I didn’t delve into spreading of the gospel. I just acknowledged the mantle on my life and then surrendered to obey the call of God upon my me. I have delved into a lot of things in life and having a church, ministry or being recognized with a pastor title didn’t come close to the list of what I wanted to become or go into. I like business and wanted to do international businesses and hopefully, would have considered politics at the state and federal level at some point. If I had it in mind to delve into ministry, I wouldn’t need an MBA. But they say, God also needs the best. He picks someone though unqualified to be His messenger and qualifies him or her.
What was the turning point in your life?
That probably would be when it dawned on me that I can no longer run from being identified with the gospel. I had an encounter in Israel and when the beginning, middle and end of it all was to go stand on the stage, I thought to my self, I was on course, I was on a stage already, until I heard a different stage, where I have to teach people of the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It was then clear that I can run, but I couldn’t hide.
What is the Grace for Comfort Channel all about?
The Grace For Comfort channel is my channel on YouTube where I discuss contemporary issues using Bible principles. It also cut across relationship talk for singles, but will be of great help to even the married and as we go, we will break it down to cover the life of just anyone who prays for and wishes to have a good and healthy relationship.
How did you establish the Divine Comfort Charity Foundation where you are a messenger?
DCCF as I fondly call it, is my ministry outreach wing. Charity is part of my calling and in the past 18 years, I have done charity in any form and medium I can afford. This is way before DCCF was born. I see myself as a messenger in DCCF because the call to share the love of God cannot be done by myself alone, but by many who will be willing to be used as tools in the hands of God to bring hope to the hopeless. When the pressure to support and give a helping hand to the hopeless, especially children, the vision was born out of the word; I shall use you to bring divine comfort to the hopeless. So, I knew it was time to make it official and create room for anyone who would like to partner in that cause. So, Divine Comfort Charity Foundation was officially and duly registered few years ago. Since then, we have been taken to share in the burden of the hopeless, we are happy to feed, clothe, medically take care of and send to school as many children as we can and widows have been encouraged several times. Right now, we are working with a healthcare cooperative to ensure that we medically insure 1,000 children in a creek in the South.
As a Nigerian, what is your take on happenings in the country?
Nigeria is in a sorry state. Things have been wrong for a very long time and we the people of Nigeria have been complaining and suffering, yet smiling. Right now, too many things are wrong. Just too many to mention. Imagine that nations are launching new projects and innovations and Nigerian Senate is sitting over cattle rearing and where they should be reared. A terrifying stage was the era of no judiciary, and, of course, medicals being on strike is a recurring decimal. One has no choice than to agree that the country can be termed a failed nation. Just in the last government, we were among the fastest growing nations in the world, at least, the FCT made it look so. But today, you drive past the roads of the FCT and find it in total blackout, even up to the centre. What you see that is bright and clear today is bad news, killings and poverty…what more can I say? Nigeria needs help.
What is God telling you about Nigeria?
God has said a lot about Nigeria and God is still revealing more. But in a nutshell, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If we are privileged to do the right thing, we will have a nation we all can be proud of. The times are delicate and must be handled with both hands and with a lot of wisdom. If the leaders are blessed with knowledge and wisdom, as I hope they are, they will sit and look into and see where and when the water entered into the boat.
Looking at the ills and odds in the country, particularly poverty, unemployment, insecurity and all forms of inequality, would you say God has abandoned Nigeria?
God never totally abandons anything. In fact, it is in the face of things like this that He showcases His power and might. God has already blessed us and gave us all that we will need to emerge as a great nation, but sentiments, greed and wickedness have eaten up our substance and we are empty and it will appear we are moving in no direction. You see, let me be a little spiritual here. If my people will humble themselves and correct their ways, I will restore them. That is what God was and is still saying. In this parlance, if Nigerians will choose to retrace their steps and move in a right direction and do the right thing now, we all will be happy. Right on this soil, the poverty, the unemployment, the insecurity and all forms of inequality are man made and man can still eradicate them. That is if men agree.
What can we do as a people to achieve the Nigeria of everyone’s dream?
The leaders should stand for the truth and do the right thing and the people should start doing the right things. Like they say, change begins with you. In the past government, the wrong thing was known as corruption, and hence the people shouted, change, change and blamed the president, calling him weak. This time, I am struggling to attach a name to the wrong thing at this juncture. The people aren’t even able to breathe. I just returned from the East, Owerri precisely and one thing was visible, panic.