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From Magnus Eze, Enugu
A prominent Islamic faithful in Enugu State, Alhaji Sani Nnaji, has attributed the current food shortage and hardship in the country to insecurity.
Nnaji, who hails from Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of the state, where herders had repeatedly wreaked havoc, noted that the situation had made farmers abandon their farms.
Speaking to Daily Sun on the significance of Eid el-Fitr, the businessman, who recently signed an agreement with Enugu State Government to develop a 150-hectare produce city in the state, sued for peace, unity and love in the country. He said there would not be solutions to the problems plaguing the nation unless there was peace and love.
“The commandment that came today from the Almighty Allah that each Muslim should give out Zakat fitr, which is to give some quality of food to a Muslim brother and why God commended that is so that everybody will feast together.
“The message is just love, Islam commended you to love yourself, love your neighbour and love everybody as you love yourself.
“The love we are selling to each other is unity and peace. The word Islam means peace and we in Enugu State celebrate with our Christian brothers, so that they would know that Islam means peace. Islam is not a violent religion, it’s a religion of peace and it’s the closest religion to Christianity.
“The Almighty Allah commanded us to eat whatever a Christian cooks, you can marry a Christian and you can allow the Christian lady to go to church while we go to our mosque, but it’s not the same with other religions.
So, the message today is to let our Christian brothers know that Islam is not what some people erroneously think about it,” he said.
Nnaji further said there was actually no religious crisis in Nigeria, but noted that people usually weep up religious sentiment to elicit sympathy.
“Those who commit insecurity in the guise of religion do it so that some people will have sympathy for them, but Islam teaches us total ways of life. There is no where Islam teaches us to kill a thing that the Almighty God created and, so, for you to take that life, you are committing the highest offence.
The major cause of food insecurity is insecurity. If you come to Enugu State, the major source of distraction on food security are bandits chasing people out of their farm lands and if you provide security in those food processing areas like in Isi-Uzo and Uzo-Uwani, you will have food security.
The solution is what Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has done by opening up large scale farm lands. When you do that you have cut off the bad eggs among us.”
