We must stop divisive actions, statements —Cleric

NIGERIANS must desist from divisive utterances and actions as “there can be no growth, development, progress and peace in an atmosphere of disunity and disharmony.”

The Chief Imam of The Muslim Congress (TMC) in Oyo State, Imam Abdul-Hafeez Abdul-Azeez Ariremako, stated this in a sermon he delivered during an Eidul-Fitr prayer held in Ologun-Eru, Ibadan, on Sunday.

Ariremako stressed that the ethnic diversity in Nigeria was a deliberate design by Allah for complementary advantages.

While decrying a recent sit-at-home order obeyed by Biafra agitators, the cleric stressed that “Nigeria belongs to all of us –Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. It will remain one forever and any attempt to shred it should be eschewed as such is definitely not in the interest of the nation and its founding fathers.”

Commending the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration on the war against terrorism and corruption, the scholar urged the Federal Government to pay attention to constructive criticisms through which, he said, “a good policy can be better.”

Imam Ariremako described Saudi/Qatar diplomatic crisis as unfortunate, saying the spirit of brotherhood remained the only antidote to the crises in the Muslim world. He said the strength of the Muslim Ummah resides in their unity.

Ariremako expressed confidence that Muslims would attain their “divinely ordained position” in the world if they took contemporary education and relevant skills seriously like their predecessors in the prophetic generation.