President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa'ad Abubakar, yesterday urged Muslim clerics in the country to pray for peace and tranquillity in the spirit of the Ramadan fasting.In a statement issued in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, by the Secretary General of the NSCIA, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, called on Muslim faithful to eschew violence and pray for leaders at all levels for Allah's guidance and justice.
The council, which urged Nigerian leaders to be conscious of Allah and discharge their responsibilities to His followers, also felicitated with the Muslim Ummah on the commencement of this year's Ramadan fast.
"The council particularly thanks the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, for the symbolic act of the paid advertisement of his felicitation with Nigerian Muslims over the commencement of Ramadan, thereby displaying a good understanding of the letters of religious tolerance in a pluralistic society like Nigeria. It is a gesture worthy of emulation.
"The council also thanks and appreciates the marvelous gesture of on board special Ramadan service by Dana Airline and urges all other corporate bodies to always extend to Islam and its festivities the usual courtesies," it said.
Meanwhile, Islamic preachers in Nigeria have been cautioned to be guided by the principles of Islam in their preaching and shun comments that could incite people against one another with a view to ensuring better development in the country.
The Mukadam (Chief Preacher) of Ilorin, Sheikh Sulaiman Dan Bornu, who disclosed this, while delivering the annual Ramadan lecture, organised by Sheikh Mukhtar Isale Koto Islamic Foundation in conjunction with Al-Hikmat Islamic outfit, also urged parents to take the training of their children more seriously to enable them have a better future. According to him, "preachers should tailor their sermons towards correcting societal ills instead of attacking one another, saying those who indulging in attacking fellow preachers lack the understanding of Islam."
He blamed loss of values in the society on parents' abdication of responsibilities towards their children.
The Islamic cleric advised parents to rise to the challenges of child upbringing and imbibe them with Islamic knowledge and moral education to live a righteous life.
BY HAMMED SHITTU
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