From John Adams Minna
Former Military President General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial district, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa CON, defied the early morning rain to joined hundreds of Muslim faithful to observed the Eid prayers at the Minna Eid praying ground on Sunday.
They were also joined in the two Ra’at prayers by the representatives of the state government which include the Secretary to Niger State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Usman, Commissioners, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mallam Mohammed Gbatamagi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Political, Alhaji Umar Kolo, Director Generals and other political appointees.
In their separate Sallah message to the people of state, they urged them to emulate Prophet Ibrahim’s virtues of sacrifice, obedience and submissiveness to the will of Allah, in order to be successful in life.
General Abdulsalami said obedience to rule of law and peaceful coexistence remains the only antidote to development, saying that Nigerians must learn to live together in harmony regardless of their religion and ethnic differences.
He maintained that every country of the world has its own story to tell in it journey to development and prosperity and therefore the current situation in Nigeria is not an excuse for Nigerians to began to take the laws into their hands.
“The current economic situation calls for patience and sacrifices as we collectively work towards a better and prosperous country”, he said.
According to him “the Sallah celebration is a commemoration of total submissiveness and obedience to the will of Allah, as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim”.
He however urged the government to address the current economic challenges in the country as Nigerians are really going difficult times.
“We must remember that the Sallah is also a lesson on the virtue of keeping our promises to Allah and to the citizens. The government must do everything possible to address the hardship in the country”, he added.
Also Senator Sani Musa while speaking on the significant of the Sallah celebration, implored ‘Muslim Ummah’ in the country to reflect on the significance of the celebration, which according to him borders on love and sacrifices for one another, stressing that “as political leaders, it beholds on us to remember the poor and the less privileged ones amongst us in a time like this”.
He stated further that the present socio-economic predicament that the country finds herself requires such assistance from well to do individuals in the society, adding that sacrifice is the Hallmark of Eid Kabir Sallah celebration.
“It was in appreciation of that gesture of sacrifice that Allah converted what would have been a human sacrifice to that of a sheep as was demonstrated by prophet Ibrahim.
“God has endowed wealth on people not for themselves and their immediate families but for the benefit of entire society, and that should be our guiding principles”.
The Senator however used the occasion to call on the government to address the current security challenges in the country especially his Constituency where the bandits and other criminal elements continue to unleashed terror on the people.
“It is disheartening that innocent and armless farmers have been chased out of their home and made to live like refuges in their land without any assistance coming their way.
“My people are in dare need of assistance from the government in terms of security. The entire Constituency is submerged by insecurity as the people are being killed or kidnapped everyday and their properties sold to pay ransom. This is unacceptable”, he added.
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