Fear Allah, fulfill your promises, don tells politicians

A university teacher, Professor Rafatu AbdulHamid, has called on those seeking political offices in the forthcoming general election to fear Allah and fulfill their promises if they get to power.

Professor AbdulHamid made the call at a forum tagged ‘Using Interfaith Dialogue as a Tool to Promote National Integration’, sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund), held on Tuesday at the University of Abuja.

AbdulHamid, a professor of Islamic Studies with specialisation in Islamic Thought and Gender Studies, called on politicians to be peacemakers and understand that only Allah gives power to whomever He wishes.

The don asked the politicians to govern with sincerity and be guided by their religious doctrines and teachings.

She said the programme could not have come at a better time to engage youths who constitute a large percentage of the voting population and make them imbibe the culture of peace.

AbdulHamid, who was a co-principal investigator of the programme, said: “Those seeking people’s mandate are either Christians or Muslims. My candid advice for anybody contesting election is that Christianity and Islam preach peace. If that is the case, then any politician should be a peacemaker. Whatever they want to do should be in line with their religious doctrines and teachings and once they do this, our country will be better for it.

“Neither Christianity nor Islam teaches or preaches violence and corruption which have been our bane as a nation. They should govern with the fear of Allah and know that it is Allah who gives power to whomever He wishes.

“This programme is a TETfund-sponsored grant. It is to engage students because we want them to imbibe the culture of peace. It is about national integration and for the students to know that they are peace ambassadors wherever they may find themselves.

“With this kind of engagement, the students will be conversant with peace process because peace is paramount. We all know that without peace, there can never be development in any form.”

Professor Ibrahim Uthman and Dr Peter Oke from the University of Ibadan, in separate presentations, called for tolerance, mutual respect and for Muslims and Christians to imbibe the culture of forgiveness to promote national unity and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

A highlight of the programme was the induction of the students as peace ambassadors for Nigeria’s unity.