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By Myke Agunwa
Public affairs commentator, Mahdi Shehu, has berated Senate President Godswill Akpabio for allegedly giving Nigerians in the diaspora a false impression that the country has overcome hunger and hardship.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio had on October 26, 2025, during a town hall meeting with Nigerians in the diaspora held in New York, United States said that Nigerians, under the current administration, have “moved past hunger and hardship,” assuring them that ongoing reforms were yielding positive results and urging them to consider investing back home.
But in a counter post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Shehu warned Nigerians abroad not to be deceived by Akpabio’s claims, saying the country is still battling economic distress.
“Nigeria’s debt has reached ₦170 trillion and continues to grow. Come back home at your own risk,” Shehu wrote.
He lamented that about 139 million Nigerians face severe hunger, while 60 million youths remain unemployed. According to him, over 30 million children across the country suffer from acute malnutrition.
Shehu accused Akpabio of “misrepresenting Nigeria’s true condition to the diaspora,” describing his statements as deceitful.
Shehu urged Nigerians to “Refresh themselves with the Lord’s teachings about leaders who profit from falsehood and have made deceit a way of life.”
In addition, he quoted several verses from the Holy Bible, claiming that the Senate President’s “mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.”
Quoting Ephesians 5:6 and Jeremiah 9:6, Shehu admonished leaders who “profit from falsehood,” warning that deceit and hypocrisy attract divine wrath.