No Nation Attains Greatness In An Atmosphere Of Disunity – Aregbesola Enjoins Moslems

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Thursday said no nation could develop and attain greatness without peace and love among its citizens. Aregbesola made the remarks in his Eid el-Kabir message in Osogbo. “Without peace and love, no nation unites and no nation attains greatness in an atmosphere of disunity, singing discordant tunes.
“The better time to promote love, tolerance, and spread the message of peace is during festive periods like this.
“I call on Muslims in Osun and the entire Nigerian Muslim ummah to seize the opportunity of the Eid to reach out to people of different faiths with greetings and messages of love and peace,” he said.
He decried the rising wave of violence and insurgency across the world, saying that at no time in human political history had peace been this endangered. “With the drums of war and violence resonating in all corners of the world, Nigeria must do everything humanly possible to douse the tension in the North-East and other parts,’’ he stated.
The governor stressed that Nigeria must chat a new way in its system of governance for it to attain the greatness it deserved.
He said that Eid was a better platform for Muslims to re-examine themselves with a view to make amends and uphold the cardinal principles of their faith.
In an interview, a resident of Osogbo, Mr Wale Adebisi, urged Muslim faithful in the country to use the Eid el-Kabir period to reflect on happenings around them. Adebisi, Executive Director, Ola Oni Resaearch Institute, called for more prayers for the administration of Rauf Aregbesola and President Muhammadu Buhari in the Osun and the country, respectively.
He urged the people to embraced peace, which he said was one of the pillars of Islam. In Kubwa, Federal Capital Territroy, Muslims defied a heavy downpour to offer prayers to the Almighty Allah to mark the celebration. Chief Imam of Kubwa, Alhaji Usman Aliyu, admonished Muslims to adopt a sense of sacrifice, eschew violence and tolerate one another.
He said that the Eid el-kabir transcended the celebrations and included character-moulding and transformation.
“Eid celebration does not end with eating good food or wearing beautiful clothes, but to have one’s acts of righteousness accepted by Allah and for one’s behaviour to transform positively,’’ he said.
Aliyu advised Muslims to act as role models for the religion of Islam and correct some negative perceptions about the religion through their acts of kindness and tolerance. “The state of the ummah today is seriously threatened due to the activities of certain elements who claim to act on behalf of Islam.
“Even here in Nigeria, a group, which calls itself Boko Haram derives pleasure from killing and maiming children, women and men, even destroying places of worship. `’All these wicked acts are abhorred by Islam because it is sinful for people to take laws into their hand and shed the blood of other people,’’ he said.
The imam advised Muslims to hold firmly to the tenets of Islam and consult the Glorious Quran to clarify any ambiguities they may experience. “It is advisable to follow the tenets of Islam and consult the Glorious Quran for any ambiguities, rather than depend on individuals who might end up misinterpreting the religion,’’ he said.
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