Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has called on Muslim faithful in the country to use the Eid- El Kabir Sallah festival to promote unity, tolerance, peaceful coexistence and the spirit of sacrifice.
The call was part of a statement to mark this year’s Eid el-Kabir Sallah celebration, issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan.
The Speaker pointed out that the country could only fulfill its great potentials as a nation if the citizens continue to foster unity, peace, security and stability as well as show greater respect and love for one another.
He said, “This is a moment for sober reflections; I enjoin you to use the period to uphold the spiritual benefit of the celebration by extending a hand of friendship and solidarity across all divides and imbibing the spirit of sacrifice and obedience to the higher authority as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim and upheld by Prophet Muhammed.
He further wished the Muslim Ummah a blessed and peaceful Eid el-Kabir Sallah celebration, and reiterated his call for sustained prayers for the leadership of the country at all levels.
He added, “This is an opportunity for us to reflect and pray for our nation; pray for our dear President for God’s guidance and good health and pray for all those in leadership positions so that God in his infinite mercy will continue to guide them as they steer the affairs of the country.”
Also in its Sallah message, the Lagos State branch of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN, charged all leaders to be truthful to their promises.
The Amir of the MSSN in Lagos State, Dr. Saheed Ashafa, in a press statement to mark the Eid’ul-Kabir festival, atteibuted Prophet Ismail’s successes to being truthful to his promises.
He expressed displeasure with the deceitful nature of Nigeria leaders, saying masses were continuously losing confidence in them.
He said, “We all need to revive the value of being truthful with promises which was the foundation character of Prophet Ismail. It is obvious that Allah describes Ismail as one who was true to his promise and, as such was successful as a Prophet.
“This is one key attribute that our leaders must imbibe. They must know that they are not only accountable to humans but also to God. If they are able to manipulate their ways here on earth, they should be assured of a compulsory questioning by our Supreme Being in the hereafter.
“The country is experiencing a chain of challenges currently because our political leaders betray their subjects as soon as they assume leadership positions. Promises are only made but not fulfilled when needed.
“Our leaders today know the need of the people but only promise without fulfilling. This is a time to reflect and turn a new leaf if truly we desire a peaceful co-existence among Nigerians, else the desired peaceful living will only exist in our imagination.
“They may need to be warned strictly that if they (leaders) fail to turn a new leaf, peaceful coexistence may only be a mirage.”
Ashafa, who condemned the trend of agitations by different groups in the country, counselled leaders to imbibe the teachings of the Eid’ul-Kabir which included sacrifice, faithfulness and compassion.
He said, “It is abhorring to note that our country is still far behind after several years of self-governance, thereby leading to discountment and agitations from different groups.
“To resolve these challenges, therefore, it is incumbent on our leaders to internalize the teachings of the celebration which include sacrifice, faithfulness and compassion towards the masses.”
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