Ramadan: Islamic cleric calls for unity as panacea for peace, security

A notable lslamic cleric, Alhaji (Sheikh) Buhari Ajilogba the Ajanosi of Epe kingdom has called on Nigerians to be united in stemming the tide of insecurity and ensure peace in the country.

Sheikh Buhari was the guest lecturer at the Epe Club Seventies  Special Ramadan  Public Lecture 2021 which was held at the clubhouse in Ita-Marun, Epe, a suburb in Lagos State.

The guest lecturer who spoke on ‘The benefit of unity’ said according to prophet Muhammed (SAW), “The good people among you are those who unite with each other without any discrimination” 

The lecturer lauded the effort of the club towards propagating Islam and uniting youths within the community, adding that Nigerians should consider themselves stakeholders if the country must win the war against insecurity.

According to him, This is the period we all come together to refresh our minds and pray collectively to the progress, unity and mutual understanding of our great country. 

“That is why l commended the Epe Club Seventies for this laudable initiative.  l urge other vibrant Clubs within the community to emulate this and foster more unity among our teeming youths.

“Our most immediate challenge now is to bring our disparate people together and pull down our barriers; otherwise, we can not build.

“Issues of development, although absolutely important are not the most immediate.

“No one without an implementable solution on the questions of unity and justice for all regardless of ethnicity and creeds should have their names to protect,” he said.

He, therefore, urged the President and members of Epe club 70s to consider themselves and allow unity and love to be their watchwords. 

He said  “Belonging to a club unifies people to achieve a common goal and impacts positively on the entire community.

“According to the Islamic view, unity helps us manage ourselves and also brings a lot of blessings” he pointed out.

In his remarks, the President of  Epe Club 70s, Mr Ibrahim Sanuth commended members and their families for the massive turnout, adding that Ramadan Public Lecture is an annual programme held by the club for the purpose of bringing all club members, families and friends together especially now that they have a clubhouse.

Sanuth added that the Ramadan lecture provides an avenue to give back to society, educating them on the need to be part of a club. 

He said “this is the time to give out to the society and this is quite different from the one we had last year and I pray we’ll have a better one next years,

“May Allah provide a way out of Covid 19 and guide us properly so that we can get back to our normal lives.

The president reasoned that many people today have the notion that a club is meant for just eating, drinking and getting entertained,  but it goes beyond that.

In his words” we want people to know we belong to a club in order to have a positive impact collectively and individually on the society and to our families. Since we started about 18 years ago, we have successfully executed quite a good number of projects, at Epe General Hospital, we provided chairs and television in the waiting room so as to make patients comfortable before they’ll be attended to, we have provided bedspread to health centres across the division, we have carried out empowerment programs, during the lockdown we distributed relief package to the vulnerable right at their doorposts and recently we organized seminars to enlighten the youths on the things they need to do to succeed in life. 

He also stated that cultism is a serious issue that needs critical attention and awareness. 

He added that parents have a huge responsibility to train their children and inculcate good values that will enable them to become responsible and shun social values. 

“Parents should teach their children to mind their peers and to cherish their name and become responsible in the society because if anything happens, their family’s name is at stake. 

“Government cannot do it alone, the youths need to be empowered and given carrier talks and seminar. The religious leaders also have a role also to play in helping the youth by focusing more on morals than success ” 

He opined that any youth who is found guilty should be brought to book without favouritism. 

He further advised the people to cast their votes for the best candidate who is of good character and values and can impact meaningfully to society.

The holy month of Ramadan is a period when people give out more alms to the people, distance themselves from sins and eager to listen to sermons.

This prompted this talented and visionary youths group, Epe Club 70s who have been doing best before in promoting the affairs of their community to do more as they organise a colourful Ramadan lecture an avenue to pass God’s message to their members and the community.

The Ramadan lecture/Iftar which took place  Saturday, April 24th, 2021 witnessed by the gathering of the club members and people from the community.

It would be recalled that during the covid19 pandemic Epe club 70s was one of the clubs that rolled out palliatives to the vulnerable around the ancient town of Epe division of Lagos State.

Their target is always on how they can contribute their quotas to the development of Epe and most especially the youths.