Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerians must rise above personal, group, sectarian and other interests and unite.
The President, who made the call in his Sallah message to the nation on Monday, asked citizens to promote harmony and tolerance in dealing with one another at all times.
President Buhari also urged all Muslims to use the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations for sober reflection and self-examination, as well as strive to be good ambassadors of Islam by upholding high moral values.
He reminded them that the occasion is a remembrance of the submission of Prophet Ibrahim to Allah, his Creator, by which he taught the world the value of sacrifice in relating with one another, and when it comes to nation-building.
“We must sacrifice for others and remember always those who are less fortunate than ourselves,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu.
He described Islam as a major factor in influencing human behaviour towards good conduct and actions.
President Buhari, however, regretted that selfishness, greed, and corruption have overwhelmed human souls to the extent that people abandon their religious beliefs in pursuit of their greed.
He stressed that the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government is a task that must be done in order to protect the larger interests of the ordinary Nigerians who are the worst victims of diseases, poverty, malnutrition and other afflictions.
According to the President, surrendering to corruption is not an option his administration is willing to choose because it destroys the society and the progress of the nation.
“Even if some people hate you for fighting corruption, you should not chicken out from the task as a leader because doing so is a betrayal of public trust,” he said.
On the current economic challenges in the country, President Buhari reassured Nigerians that such were temporary, insisting that the welfare of the people was the main thrust of the ‘change agenda’ of his administration.
To buttress his point, he highlighted the numerous initiatives unfolded by his administration under the Social Investment Programme (SIP).
The President said these included the decision to distribute recovered stolen funds to the poor, “against the past practices of re-looting such funds by some people in authority.”
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