For the Visionary and Founder of KOGA FAITH Foundation Nigeria & US and the first Lay President of UGCAN, the parent body of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Priscilla Otuya, Nigeria’s problem is not lack of ideas or prayers, but a fundamental misunderstanding of faith.

In an exclusive interview, the cleric and social entrepreneur says Nigeria is ripe for what she calls “faith-based solutions,” a model that moves beyond religion into practical, profitable and people-impacting development.

A Vision Born At Ota In 2005
Otuya traces her ‘Vision for New Nigeria’ to a revelation she had during a Democratic Leadership Forum Training Workshop (DLTW) organised by African Leadership Forum founded by His Excellency former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Ota, Ogun State, in 2005.

According to her, the vision for a new Nigeria came to her during the DLTW which she attended twice, and she adopted it as her project after the training. That birthed what she called the New Nigeria Leadership Forum (NNLF) which hosted prominent Nigerians including Dr. Pat Utomi.

“I believe it is a calling. It has been a burden since I was a child. I see things differently and I do things differently,” she said.

Avodah: Work, Worship And Service As One
At the heart of her message is the Hebrew concept of ‘Avodah,’ which means work, worship and service are one.

“There is nowhere in scripture where God said we should separate our vocation from our calling. Dividing worship has been a major setback for us in Africa and we want to correct that,” she said.

She argued that countries like the United States of America have long leveraged faith-based initiatives, with a dedicated office in the White House since the era of former President George Bush, and questioned why Nigeria has not adopted same.

“If you do your research, you will find that countries like America work with faith-based initiatives.

So, why can’t Africa, and particularly Nigeria, do the same?”

We Are Not Beggars, We Are Social Entrepreneurs
Bishop Otuya lamented that the major challenge since 2005 has been misconception. People, she said, confuse faith-driven organisations with charity NGOs looking for donations.

“We are not a charity. We are social entrepreneurs, but faith-driven. You use your money to invest, make profit and use part of it to solve social needs,” she explained.

She cited examples of women like Mrs. Ibukun Awosika and Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija as believers doing things on a big scale with their own resources.

“I can show you my bank details; I have never received any donation. It’s my money. In my house, when my husband noticed what I was doing with KOGA FAITH Foundation, we agreed to take part of our business profit and put it into the organisation. We don’t have to go cap-in-hand to government,” she stated.

Her model, she said, is simple: if a General Hospital charges N50,000 for malaria treatment, a Faith-Based Organisation can charge N20,000, take from profit and plough it back to meet social needs.

Why She Stayed Quiet Until Now
On why the vision was not made public earlier, she said there is a time to incubate.

“There is a time to master what you’re doing, make mistakes, learn and move. If you launch before your time, you will miss it,” she said, quoting the scripture, “On the day of your power, people will be willing.”

Nigeria: A Child Trapped In A Cradle
Speaking on the state of the nation, Bishop Otuya described Nigeria as “a child placed in a cradle at birth and never allowed to grow beyond it.”

“You cannot keep a child in the same cradle for 66 years and expect normal development. Nigeria was born into a political arrangement. A framework was created and we’ve operated in it for decades. That’s what I call being ‘cradlelised’,” she said.

She insisted Nigeria is ordained for greatness and being reshaped by God, urging citizens to stop negative confessions about the country.

“God told me to tell us: you will be restored or defiled by the words of your mouth. We should stop saying ‘Nigeria is finished’,” she said.

Should Men Of God Join Politics?
On politics, she said she does not believe simply having men of God enter politics will automatically change things, but the Church must be involved in how people are governed.

“The Bible says God rules in the affairs of men. In God’s original system, there was a relationship between kings, priests and God. Leadership and spiritual authority were not separated,” she noted.

She, however, cautioned against Christians constantly fighting government, saying correction should be the goal, not condemnation.

“If God sends a prophet to a leader, the prophet should tell the leader what he’s doing wrong and what to do differently. But the objective should be correction, not condemnation. Look at Nathan and David.”

2027 And Beyond
Ahead of 2027, Otuya urged Nigerians to stop making everything about the person in the presidential seat and focus on solutions.

“Government cannot solve everything alone. If we have solutions, we should bring them to the table,” she said.

Her vision for the next five to 10 years is to build KOGA FAITH Foundation into a house of solutions and a holding structure for great ideas that goes beyond conferences into actual projects and problem-solving.

Her guiding principle remains golden: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”