Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged Muslims in the country to use the Ramadan period to pray for the nation in order to triumph over current economic challenges, saying that Nigeria needs prayer to assist the leaders in making the right decisions that will lead the country on the right path to national growth and economic recovery.
Sanwo-Olu made the call on Sunday while speaking at the Annual Ramadan Lecture 1445AH/2024 of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Council held at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, emphasizing that no one would seek elective post with the aim to fail but were overwhelmed by various challenges and pressures of office.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said that at a time like this when the country was going through economic challenges and hardship, there was a need for prayers by Nigerians to assist the leaders in overcoming various obstacles and present economic challenges and hardship facing the country.
“Nobody will contest for a position of authority with the intention to fail. They are overwhelmed with the challenges and pressure of office. So, there is a need for us to use this period of Ramadan to pray to Allah to prevent them from derailing from their promises,” the governor said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, however, called on Nigerians to be their brothers’ and sisters’ keepers during Ramadan and after, adding that as government, his administration had initiated various programmes to ameliorate the hardship faced by citizens in the state.
According to him, his administration has initiated the Lagos Food Market across the 57 Local Government Areas/Local Council Development Areas in the state, where citizens can get food items at discounted rates, saying that food items like rice, beans, bread, garri, eggs, tomatoes, pepper, among others would be sold at 25 per cent “discount to residents starting from today, Sunday, 17th March 2024 at the designated areas across the state.
He said this was the government’s way of bridging the huge cost of getting foodstuff, adding that the state government had concluded plans to feed one million less privileged residents across the state free of charge using some selected “Mama Put Food Joints” across the state.
Speaking further, Governor Sanwo-Olu said that the state government through the six newly created Health Districts across the state, in its bid to attend to the medical needs of the residents, would hold medical outreaches where citizens would be attended to and given free drugs particularly those with diseases like High Blood Pressure, Diabetes and others.
The governor, therefore, urged all the citizens to take full advantage of all these initiatives by the government for their own good and not to resell them.
Chairman, Lagos State Council of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdur Rahman Olabode Salaudeen, earlier in his welcome address, charged Muslims to take advantage of the month of Ramadan to observe all that Allah enjoined them to do and abstain from what Allah forbids as well as extend hands of succour and assistance to the needy, poor and the less privileged around them.
Salaudeen, who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Alhaji (Dr.) Hassan Alao added that the society would continue to register its presence in the distribution of welfare packages in her bid to alleviate the sufferings faced by the less privileged in the society.
He, therefore, charged all to be their brothers’ and sisters’ keepers in the face of the present economic situation and hardship.
Salaudeen stressed that the society remained committed to making people see the beauty of Islam, revitalizing the high values the religion teaches, saying that it would always embark on lots of life-changing programmes and activities that would make Muslims and non-Muslims see Islam as a religion of peace, love and unity.
In his lecture, titled; “What does He want from me,” the Guest Lecturer/National Missioner, Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria and Overseas, Sheikh Abdur’Rahman Olanrewaju Ahmad, said Ramadan is a month in which Muslims were expected to be increased in their worship and their efforts to get closer to Allah.
He added that they were expected to be of more service to their fellow human beings, saying that it was a period they were reminded of their duties to their God and fellow human beings.
He stated that what Allah wanted from mankind, particularly Muslims is to be closer to Him, love Him and worship Him as well as do away with anything that Allah had warned them against.
On the present hardship in the country, the cleric said tough times don’t last forever only tough people do, however, charged Nigerians to be more conscious of Allah and be just to themselves as, according to him, the issue is not peculiar to Nigeria, but a global phenomenon.
“There is no need in hoarding money and in hoarding goods, in making life much more difficult for people. If something is meant for the people, give it to them.
“Allah will provide your own. Don’t misappropriate the resources that are meant to alleviate the suffering of the people. Don’t hoard goods, don’t profiteer, don’t make life more difficult for people,” he said.
“This is not about the government, it is also about us, about individuals. It is not the government that runs most of the public transport. Don’t make it difficult for people.
“It is not the government that sells goods in the market. Don’t hoard, don’t make it difficult for the people. The government is not the landlord. Don’t make it difficult for people, make it easy for them and Allah will also make it easy for you,” he added.
In their goodwill messages, the former Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola; National President of the Ansar-Ud-Deen, Alhaji (Aare) Rafiu Ademola Sanni and the Chairman of the Occasion, AVM (Dr.) Sikiru Oladimeji Smith, urged Muslims to seize the opportunity of Ramadan to pray for Nigeria and remember and take care of the less-privileged in their communities, particularly at this hard time, declaring that the month of Ramadan is a month of giving.
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