FROM SAMSON ALFA, MINNA
Etsu Nupe and Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has urged the Muslim Ummah to embrace peace and unity to enhance positive development of the country.
He felicitated the Muslim Ummah on the successful completion of the holy month of Ramadan and congratulated them on the occasion of Eid el-Fitr.
The Etsu Nupe stated this while addressing his community shortly after the two Raka’at prayers at the Eid praying ground in Bida, headquarters of Bida Local Government Area.
The traditional ruler expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah for granting the faithful the strength, patience and spiritual fulfillment to observe the Ramadan fast.
He admonished Muslims to continue to uphold the virtues imbibed during the holy month, including piety, love, charity, discipline and compassion, stressing that such values are essential for personal growth and societal harmony.
Besides, the Etsu Nupe urged the faithful to refrain from returning to bad acts and behaviours they abstained from during Ramadan.
The royal father appealed to Nigerians to intensify prayers for the peace, unity and progress of the country, noting that peace remains a veritable foundation for any meaningful development.
He also enjoined Nigerians to remain law-abiding, united and shun all forms of violence and actions capable of disrupting the peaceful coexistence of the society.
The traditional ruler appealed to well-to-do Muslims in the society to continue to support the less privileged to alleviate their suffering.
“I want to use this occasion to call on wealthy individuals to continue to support the poor so as to alleviate their sufferings in the society.
“The present economic predicament that we are now facing requires such assistance from well-to-do individuals in the country.”
The traditional ruler enjoined Muslims to have the fear of God in all their activities, saying “we all have to give account of our deeds one day to our creator”.
On education, he charged the people of his domain to send their children to school to acquire both western and Islamic knowledge.
Highlighting the importance of family values, the Etsu Nupe advised parents to take full responsibility for the proper upbringing of their children, emphasising the need to instill moral discipline and sound values that will guide them to become responsible members of the society.
The Chief Imam of Nupe, Sheikh Adamu Liman-Yakatun, in his sermon, advised the Muslim faithful to imbibe the lessons of Ramadan.
Sheikh Yakatun, however, called on those who prayed and fasted for the 30 days, to internalise and practice the social and moral objectives of the holy month of Ramadan.
