Authority / Nigeria: Muslim leaders in the South East zone have condemned the carrying of arms by herdsmen and warned them to stop the practice.
They also opposed their encroachment on farms and cities in the South-East under disguise of rearing cattle.
The Vice President of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), Alhaji Dauda Ajagu and the Secretary-General of the Anambra State Muslim Council, Alhaji Sani Ejoh, who made the call, enjoined Muslims in the country to always remain obedient and loyal to Almighty Allah and the political, spiritual and traditional leaders since it is Allah that gives those leaders the power to oversee the people.
Herdsman carrying an automatic weapon
Ajagu, a media consultant and proprietor of Ajagu Anam Communications Limited, Onitsha, however pleaded with the Federal Government to warn herdsmen against carrying arms while rearing their cattle.
“Herdsmen should be very careful with their cows while in other people’s communities because their bad behaviours ranging from carrying sophisticated arms and invading people’s farmlands with their cows are capable of igniting another tribal war in the country. We have fought a tribal war before but we don’t want to fight again. All we need at this time is absolute peace,” the Muslim cleric stated.
Alhaji Ajagu who gave the charge in Onitsha, Anambra State yesterday ahead of Tuesday’s Eid-al-adha Muslim annual festival, also urged Muslims to always pray for Nigeria and its economy recovery.
He said: “Let’s stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for the present economic downturn we find ourselves and the fall in the value of Nigeria’s currency, the naira. Rather, we should join hands in prayers because united we stand, divided we fall.”
On the significance of Eid-al-adha, Ajagu explained that Muslims used the festival to remember how Allah told Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his only son but later gave him a ram for the sacrifice in place of his son.
He said that in celebrating the festival, the Muslim faithful usually sacrifice the ram to Allah, divide the meat into three parts: one for the less-privileged in their midst, two for friends and well-wishers, while the third part is for himself and his family. He observed that it was time Nigerians remember those who they know are better than in terms of social status.
The Secretary-General, Anambra State Muslim Council , Alhaji Sani Ejoh, insisted the celebration called for obedience and total submission to the will of God for an egalitarian and peaceful society.
He said that disobedience to the will of God had been responsible for the increasing loss of moral values in the country and charged Muslims in the state to imbibe the fear of Allah and key into the anti-corruption crusade of President Buhari administration.
