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Tag: Sallah message

  • Buhari did not address Nigerians in his Sallah message – PFN

    Buhari did not address Nigerians in his Sallah message – PFN

    The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Wednesday faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s Sallah message in Hausa language, just as it described the quit notice to Igbos in the North as “reckless and as of no consequence.”

    The group, which insisted that the President did not address Nigerians but his kinsmen, said such action was capable of further polarizing the country along ethnic nationalities.

    Enugu State Chapter of the PFN made these assertions at the end of a three-day prayer for God’s intervention over the tension in the country.

    Chairman of the PFN in the State and Bishop Elect of the Grace of God Mission, Rev. Dr. Godwin Madu while leading in a prayer session condemned the quit notice, urging Nigerians not to panic as God is already in control.

    “Nigeria is one indivisible entity; the quit notice is the finger of the enemy trying to make Nigeria like Somalia, Eritrea and other crisis-ridden countries of the world.

    “So, we are urging for calm because the notice is a joke. Our prayer is that God will touch the hearts of the people causing problems in this country”, Madu stated

    Other clerics, including the Bishop of the Rock Family Church, Dr. Obi Onubogu, the PFN secretary, Rev. Dr. Noble Idika and the secretary, PFN social security outreach, Apostle Dr. Joseph Ajujungwa, called on Nigerians to eschew hate speech and actions capable of further threatening the already fragile peace in the country.

    Ajujungwa and Idika accused Buhari of sectionalizing the country; an action they said was capable of worsening the already tensed situation.

    “A lot is happening in this country every day and those at the helm of affairs don’t seem to be helping matters. The other day the President was reported to have addressed Nigerians in Hausa language.

    “To us, we maintain that it is the most unfortunate thing that should happen at this point in time. Nigeria has more than 250 languages, so, how can the President address a section? We are asking him whether he is still President of the entire country.

    “As far as we are concerned, he did not address Nigerians but his kinsmen, the Hausas; it is an unfortunate thing and an insult to other Nigerians who do not understand Hausa language”, Ajujungwa quipped.

    On his part, Bishop Onubogu called for continuous dialogue in the country, even as he said the Biafra agitators should stop using insulting words on people from other zones of the country.

    “The answer is let us stop castigating each other; things must change; I have always said the three solutions to Nigeria problems are – dialogue, dialogue and dialogue. You can’t be calling people names and you say you are negotiating.

    “We should also handle this Biafra agitation carefully; the notion that they are drug addicts is wrong. Among them we have intellectuals, successful business men and industrialists.

    “But they should not go on abusing other regions; if God wants us to separate as a country, let us go peacefully.”

  • Nigeria needs sacrifice, patriotism to overcome challenges – Buhari

    Nigeria needs sacrifice, patriotism to overcome challenges – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said Nigeria needs sacrifices to overcome its present challenges and repair the damage done by bad governance.

    The President made the call in his Eid-el-Fitr message to Nigerians.

    The sacrifices, he said, are needed to accelerate the pace of national development in the country.

    Buhari said: “Although we have come to the end of this year’s Ramadan, I believe that a greater acceptance by Nigerians of its key lessons of self-denial and sacrifice will serve our dear country well as we strive to overcome our present challenges, undo the damage done by years of bad governance and accelerate the pace of national development.

    “Reviewing our dire circumstances and the many missed opportunities of the past, some commentators and observers have said that this is Nigeria’s last chance to get its act together and finally begin to fulfill its God-given potential for greatness.

    “While not going that far, I certainly believe that now, more than ever before, our country needs greater self-denial, sacrifice and patriotism from all of its citizens, if we are to quickly recover from our numerous problems and start moving in a positive direction.”

    The President said the current period offers Nigeria a great opportunity to break away from the vicious triangle of insecurity, corruption and under-development.

    He added: “We must collectively resolve to seize this opportunity and unite to confront our problems. I remain wholly committed to giving the required leadership  towards undoing the wrongs of the past, ensuring that Nigeria truly begins to unlock its great potential and that the benefits of our immense national resources are shared and enjoyed by all, not just by successive cabals of corrupt leaders and their cronies.”

    Stressing that he was not unaware of Nigerians’ high expectations when he assumed office on May 29, Buhari said he has been working with utmost dedication to meticulously plan and tackle the many national challenges which have been identified and to be resolved.

    But to succeed, he said that he needs the continued support, understanding and patience of Nigerians.

     

  • Sallah: Saraki, Mark harp on national unity, peace

    Sallah: Saraki, Mark harp on national unity, peace

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Thursday congratulated Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts across the world for the successful completion of this year’s Ramadan fasting and celebration of Eid-el-Fitri.

    He said that Muslim faithfuls should intensify prayers for unity, peace and progress in Nigeria.

    Saraki in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, urged Muslims to adhere to one of the injunctions of Allah that formed the basis of sermons delivered in various mosques during the holy month that all citizens should pray for their leaders and their nation so that the leaders can receive divine guidance while initiating measures that will bring comfort and respite for the generality of the people.

    He said, “At this point in our national life, unity among all the different ethnic and religious groups will usher in peace and peace will engender progress and development.

    “We therefore need to learn to live together in peace, tolerate one another and eschew actions which can threaten the peace of the nation.

    “Muslims, in particular, should continue to demonstrate the fact that the meaning of Islam is peace and therefore we should learn to live in peace with people of other faith and tolerate one another.

    “We should also remember our fellow citizens in the North eastern part of the country who are being assailed by insurgents who call themselves Boko Haram.”

    The Senate President urged all Nigerians to continue to pray for the country’s military who are engaged in the war against the insurgents “so that by the period of the next Ramadan, peace would have been totally restored to the whole of the Northeast and other parts of Nigeria.”

    He added that good followership is a sine qua non for good leadership.

    He urged Nigerians to display patriotism always as well as to pay their taxes as at when due, eschew corrupt practices and protect public facilities as if it is their own.

    Also former Senate President, David Mark, in a good will message to Muslims, called for ceaseless prayer and genuine resolve by all Nigerians in the war against insurgency in the country.

     

  • Don’t give up on Nigeria – Tinubu

    Don’t give up on Nigeria – Tinubu

    Former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday urged Muslim faithfuls to imbibe the lessons learnt during the holy month of Ramadan.

    The former governor made the call in his Sallah message to Muslims in the country.

    He urged them to continue to pray for unity of the country.

    He said, “We must not give up on Nigeria particularly in the face of our current security and political challenges. We shall overcome if we all remain steadfast in our patriotism and prayers.

    “We must at all times imbibe the spirit of unity, no matter our religious or political affiliation or ethnic grouping. Nigeria belongs to us all and all must come together to defend our togetherness.

    “Those that insist that they are more patriotic than other Nigerians because of different political or religious affiliations must desist. They do this country great harm by seeking to exploit our present circumstances to gain political space and advantage.

    “At the end of it all, no one is greater than Nigeria as we will guide our unity with a singularity of purpose and superiority of vision.

    “I call on all well-meaning Nigerians of all faiths to seek the face of God at this most trying of times. Insurgency is an unwanted and dangerous guest in our midst; we must be resolute and consistent in confronting it. We can only do this with a united front.”

  • Eid-El-Kabir: Jonathan preaches tolerance, peaceful co-existence

    Eid-El-Kabir: Jonathan preaches tolerance, peaceful co-existence

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday urged Muslims to continue to meditate on the immense benefits derivable by Nigeria from honesty, selflessness, tolerance, peaceful co-existence, equity, fairness and justice for all.

    In his Eid-El-Kabir message to Nigerians, he noted that all those qualities are integral part of the message of the Holy Prophet.

    He also maintained that he has no hidden agenda in the proposed national conversation as he urged all Nigerians to support the new effort at charting a new course for the country.

    He said: “I extend warm greetings and felicitations to you all as we celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir festival. I also congratulate all Nigerians who have been able to undertake the Hajj this year in fulfillment of their religious obligations.

    “As they undergo the rites of the Hajj in the Holy Land, and celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice here at home, I urge our Islamic Faithful to offer special prayers for peace, harmony, unity, security and progress in our fatherland.

    “I also implore them, as always, to find time in the midst of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations to meditate on the immense benefits our nation can derive from a greater exhibition by its people of piety, honesty, selflessness, tolerance, peaceful co-existence with others, equity, fairness and justice for all, which are an integral part of the message of the Holy Prophet.

    Jonathan continued: “My administration will continue to promote and encourage the teaching of these commendable virtues of Islam and our other religious beliefs in the knowledge that a greater manifestation of such virtues and ideals by our people will stand our country in very good stead as we strive to overcome the challenges of development and build a great nation.

    “My administration also remains fully committed to the implementation of measures and policies that will further promote and enhance national peace, stability and progress.”

    On the national conference, he said: “It is in keeping with that avowed commitment and my firm belief in the right to freedom of expression and the right of all people in a democracy to make choices on how they wish to live and be governed that I recently announced plans for an orderly national conversation on our problems and challenges. Those who continue to say that the initiative is diversionary or aimed at promoting certain political ambitions are in error.”

     

  • Sultan to clergy: Preach with fear of God

    Sultan to clergy: Preach with fear of God

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has called on Islamic and Christian clergy to preach with the absolute fear of God in the country.

    The Sultan said this in his Sallah message to the Muslim faithful in Nigeria to mark the Eid-el-Fitri celebrations.

    Abubakar said the clergy they should fear Allah and live above their own selfish interests while preaching to their followers.

    “They should avoid provocative statements that could lead to the breach of peace and lead to violence in the country.

    “They should also know that staying attuned to the religious teachings is the only way that bring mutual respect and love which eventually lead to the desired peace in the nation,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Sultan as saying in the message.

    The monarch also said that it was not right for a non-Muslim to interfere in the affairs of the Muslims and Islam or to impose his views on the religion he did not profess.

    Abubakar also commended the Federal Government for constituting the committee on the security challenges in the north.

    He said that those calling for the scrapping of the committee were enemies of peace and were “unpatriotic,’’ and charged Nigerians to give the committee the necessary support to accomplish its job.

    “It is a known fact that no peace could be achieved except through constructive dialogue.

    “On our part, we are satisfied with the work of this committee and we are ready to give it all necessary support to succeed,’’ he promised.

    The Sultan also called on leaders at all levels to fear Allah by accomplishing the trust placed on them in leading their subjects.

     

  • Nigeria won’t break up – Jonathan

    Nigeria won’t break up – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday assured that Nigeria will not break up pointing out that the country’s diversity is a great strength yet to be tapped.

    Speaking while receiving the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, who led the Muslim community on the annual Sallah homage, faulted the United States report that predicted that Nigeria will break up on or before 2015.

    Congratulating the Muslim brothers and sisters for successfully observing the Ramadan, he urged them to continue to pray for peace in Nigeria and all over the world.

    He noted that fasting wasn’t an easy task, saying he participated in the 30 days fasting every year in solidarity with Muslims in the country.

    He said: “For us, we cannot imagine a Nigeria without Muslims and Christians; you can call it another name, but not Nigeria. So it is a blessing that this is one country that you have significant population of Muslims and Christians and this religious diversity will enhance our development because we can get across the whole world, wherever we go we are accepted. That helps us in so many ways.

    “We are not even exploiting our diversity because of the myopic views about situations. Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters and we must live together, those who are predicting that this country will separate based on our frontlines as at the time of amalgamation, by 2015 they will know that these predictions will not be true.

    “Today is a unique day, and I urge our Moslem brothers and sisters that they should continue to pray for peace not just in Nigeria but all over the world. If you watch television these days, more than 60 percent of the time is spent on showing crises all over the world and for the world to move ahead and for Nigeria to move ahead. For us to develop first and foremost, there must be peace and security. Nobody will come and invest in an environment where you are not sure of the safety of your workers and investment.”