As Muslims celebrate Eid-el-Fitri
saturday, former member of the House of Representatives, Hon.
Opeyemi Bamidele has tasked the Muslims
to continue to offer prayers for
President Muhammadu Buhari, to
overcome the challenge of Boko Haram insurgency in the North.
In the Ramadan message to newsmen
in Ado Ekiti on Friday, the ex-Chairman,
House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, praised the Muslims
across the nation for their condemnation of the insurgents and their sacrifices during the 30 days of
fasting and prayers.
Bamidele, in a statement signed
by its media aide, Ahmed Salami, stated that the resolve by all sections of the country to work with
Buhari’s government to rid the nation of the cankerworm of senseless killings
and bombings, was quite commendable .
However, the Speaker of Ekiti
State House of Assembly, Hon. Kola
Oluwawole, felicitated with Muslims for
the successful completion of this year's Eid-El-Fitri, expressing the belief
that the one-month
Ramadan fasting would yield fruit
of peace, progress and blessing in the state and Nigeria in general.
The speaker, in a statement
issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Stephen Gbadamosi, advised Muslim
faithful not to allow the lessons of sacrifice, holiness, giving and humility
learnt during the fasting to end with it, but to continue to reflect them in
their day-to-day activities.
Bamidele disclosed that the
Muslims had made sacrifices for sustained unity and peaceful co-existence of
the nation in all facets, saying it was wrong and callous for some faceless groups to be hiding under the
cloak of Islam to wreak havoc on the nation
and its innocent citizens.
“The Islamic clerics and members
in some of their sermons have shown their disdain and resentments for Boko
Haram. They have shown that the insurgents are mere vampires fighting for
selfish interests and not the interest of Islam.
“With their sacrifices and
prayers during Ramadan, I share the belief that Boko Haram days are numbered in
Nigeria.
“Several reasons have been
adduced for Boko Haram attack in Nigeria.
“When they first started, they
said it was all politics. Later, some thought they were fighting religious war,
which some misinterpreted to mean an attempt to Islamise Nigeria. But with the
trend of things now, it is obvious that Boko Haram is a terrorist’s group that
needed to be tackled by all faiths.
“I plead with Muslims to continue
to sustain their prayers as they did during Ramadan for President Buhari.
Nigeria needs prayers at the moment to be able to put this group under check. I
quite believe that with love, sacrifices and togetherness among Nigerians as
directed by Prophet Mohammed(SAW), Nigeria will overcome Boko Haram and the
people of North East shall enjoy permanent relief”, he said.
On the uproar that dogged the few
appointments made by President Buhari, which he said was being misinterpreted
as being pro-North , Bamidele appealed to Nigerians to desist from reading political and
religious meanings to actions taken by their leaders to halt the division being
caused by ethno-religious crisis in the country.
He said it was quite immature for
any nation to place premium on ethnic
and religious cards in electing or appointing people into
positions instead of merit, saying such country would perpetually remain under the yoke of poverty
and bad governance.
The former Federal
parliamentarian appealed to Nigerians to continue to have faith in Buhari’s
government to bring the expected change that will propel the country to a
stable economic prowess that would guarantee the citizens the opportunity to
enjoy the dividends of democracy.
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