Innocent Onoh
The Chief Imam, Lagos State University, Prof. Amidu Sanni, on Saturday, urged Nigerian Muslims and Christians, the two major religions in Nigeria, to chart a new cause of trust for each other to hold political leaders accountable.
Sanni gave the advice in his 2025 EID EL FITR message to felicitate with Nigerians as they celebrate the feast of Ramadan.
The cleric decried the drift in the polity that has given rise to hardship in the land and urged for a unity of purpose of the two faiths to check maladministration.
The cleric congratulated the Muslim faithful for persevering to the end of the fasting and prayer period.
The Imam said that the coincidence of the 2025 Christian Lenten and Ramadan seasons was not an accident but a strong reminder of the need for Muslims and Christians to close ranks.
He said that the faiths needed to be in harmony rededicate themselves to Allah, show more love to humanity, re-establish pristine family values, hold leaders accountable
and ensure the rule of law across the board to better the country.
According to him, the Eid Fitr offers another opportunity for all to re-establish our lives along the path of total dedication of our lives to God’s will and imbibe the lesson of sharing, caring, and compassion afforded by the just concluded fasting season.
“Shun excessive materialism and greed which have overwhelmed the society such that cultism, ritual killings kidnapping for ransom, among other perverse acts, have become the norm.
“Leaders, in their inordinate ambitions to control humanity and resources for life, behave as if there wouldn’t be a tomorrow when they will be called to account before Allah.
“The mad pursuit of power ahead of 2027 is already creating friction in the polity with a political realignment of spent and inconsequential forces and individuals who have never demonstrated any commitment to the common good.
“Ordinary Nigerians have remained progressively impoverished and disorientated. The obvious intention of those full-time politicians is to grab power for power’s sake rather than putting in place a better system that would impact the lives of Nigerians.
“Our leaders behave as if they have a life assurance beyond the moment in which they live, otherwise, those who are yet to justify the current mandate should not be scheming for 2027, halfway into the current term.
“This is the time for faiths with majority of the electorate to stop the enthronement of incompetent leaders into the polity for the country to advance,” he said.
He appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use the occasion of his 73rd birthday, which coincided with the Sallah celebrations, to recalibrate his governance strategy, rejig his personnel and socio-economic mechanisms, and work for an enduring legacy that would remain a point of reference,ce not only in Nigeria but in Africa.
The Federal Government, on Thursday, declared Monday and Tuesday public holidays to enable Nigerians to celebrate the feast.