.Says getting 100m people out of poverty realizable
.Atiku, Gbajabiamila, Wike, others preach peace, love, unity, end to insecurity
.IGP assures improved public safety, security
JONAS EZIEKE, Abuja, IBRAHIM QUADRI, Lagos, COSMOS CHUKWU, Enugu
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent Eid greetings on the occasion of Eid El-Adha that is being celebrated across the world.
In his message marking the auspicious Muslim occasion, the President restates the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious and prosperous country in which the safety of life and property is assured.
Reflecting on current challenges facing the country, the President stated that “COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on our efforts to boost local production in line with our policy to drastically reduce food importation.”
This, he explains, has led to food inflation which the government is working hard to address.
According to President Buhari, “no government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers.”
He said: “Apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining our goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices.”
“As an elected president who enjoys the goodwill of the ordinary people that gave us their mandate, let me assure you that we are continuing with measures to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertilizer available at affordable prices to our farmers,” he tells Nigerians.
The President also noted that the current insecurity in the country “has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.”
“Let me also use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians that we are taking measures to address our security challenges. We have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of our security forces to confront terrorism and banditry,” he added.
Speaking on the significance of the Eid El-Kabir celebration, the President appeals to Muslims “to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices:
“Taking advantage of the celebration to exploit fellow citizens through outrageous prices of food and rams is inconsistent with fine virtues of Islam.
“As practising believers, we shouldn’t seek obscene profits by making life difficult and miserable for others. We should not seek happiness at the expense of others. Remember that Islam is a religion of charity that urges us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.
Meanwhile, the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has reiterated that Eid-el-Kabir was a reminder of what we must do to heal Nigeria
According to him, ’’The season is here with us again to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir and most importantly, give thanks to the Almighty God for sparing our lives as individuals and families to celebrate this significant festival of sacrifice.
Eid-el-Kabir teaches and reminds us of the meaning of sacrifice, love and forbearance with God and in our relationships with one another.
As Muslims more especially, Eid-el-Kabir and the stories of Prophets Ibrahim and Ishmael (Peace and Blessings of Allah be with them) that accompany it requires that we take the whole of humanity as one nation.
The significance of the celebration today is rooted in peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and tolerance. These are the virtues that we, as Nigerians, need to imbibe as we seek to heal our country of all shades of mistrust.
According to the teachings of Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the slaughtering of animals in celebration of this festival is to evoke and reinforce the consciousness of God in all our deeds and wishes.
We would not be able to fully appreciate the love from God if we allow killing of the innocent souls and propagation of hateful rhetoric become a norm amongst us.
As I congratulate Muslims in Nigeria and across the globe on this year’s Eid el-Kabir, may I remind you of our beloved Prophet’s saying that, “no nation is superior to the other. But the best amongst you is the one with the best piety to Allah.”
.Gbajabiamila sues for prayers, unity among Nigerians
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for prayers and unity of purpose among Nigerians at this period of Eid-el-Kabir.
He said as people that believe and worship God, Nigerians, especially Muslims, should use the opportunity of the Eid-el-Kabir to pray for their leaders to be able to find solutions to our problems.
Gbajabiamila said Nigerians must remain united and steadfast at all times to be able to face the challenges confronting the country.
He called on Muslims to imbibe the habit of sacrifice and love for one another as characterized by the Holy Prophet, Muhammad (SAW).
Speaker Gbajabiamila said there is more that unites us as a people, hence the need for togetherness and peaceful coexistence.
Gbajabiamila, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, urged Nigerians to conduct themselves in a patriotic manner as “We have no other country we can call our own than Nigeria.
.IGP assures sustained efforts at improving public safetyl security
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has assured the nation of sustained efforts by the Force in fighting crimes and criminality and improving public safety and security across the country.
The IGP gave the assurance while charging Commissioners of Police (CPs) in all the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), to beef-up security ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, to prevent any untoward situation in their Areas of Responsibility (AoR) throughout the Eid-el-Kabir season and beyond.
The IGP particularly directed the Zonal AIGs and State Command CPs to put in place all necessary security measures to ensure a secure, peaceful and incident-free celebration. They are to, amongst other things; deploy human and other operational assets to carry out confidence building and crime prevention patrols on major highways, residential and industrial areas, vulnerable points, places of worship, other places of public resort and around all critical national infrastructure. The IGP equally warned that personnel deployed must be professional and mindful of the fundamental rights of the citizens, and discharge their responsibilities with all sense of decorum and alertness.
The IGP, while congratulating the Muslim Faithfuls in the country on the occasion of the year 2021 Eid-el-Kabir celebration, reiterated that the Force would continue to improve on the recent gains achieved in stabilizing security order in parts of the country, protecting lives and property of citizens, and denying space for crimes and criminality to thrive in and around the country. He enjoins citizens to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of the Eid-el-Kabir while remaining security conscious and compliant with the COVID-19 prevention protocols.
