ANAMBRA State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, and Deputy National Director General of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Alhaji Siddiki Gidado, have urged Muslims to use the holy month of Ramadan to strengthen their resolve to foster unity and peaceful co-existence.
Soludo, while felicitating Muslims on the commencement of the Ramadan Fast, said the occasion offers a unique opportunity for them to strengthen their connection with the Almighty Allah and extend compassion to those in need.
The governor stated that Ramadan also serves as a period of profound spiritual reflection, self-discipline and heightened devotion, adding: “This sacred month reinforces the timeless values of charity, empathy and peaceful coexistence, which are fundamental to building a harmonious and progressive society.”
He noted that Anambra deeply values the contributions of the Muslim community to the socio-economic dynamism of the state and encouraged all faithful to use this auspicious period to deepen their faith and pray for the continued peace and prosperity of the state and Nigeria.
Soludo wished all Muslims a blessed and rewarding Ramadan, praying to the Almighty Allah to grant them the strength and grace to successfully complete the fast.
In the same vein, Gidado, who congratulated the Muslim community in the Southeast Zone, urged harmony and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, cultural, gender and religious differences.
He said Southeast states governments have a lot of role to play in the protection of MACBAN members, assuring that herders are continually being re-orientated on precautionary measures in their trade to avoid conflict with farmers and their host communities.
Gidado acknowledged that there’s bound for mutual suspicion and conflict between herders and farmers, given their diverse cultural background, but cautioned against growing suspicion and speculation in some quarters about the activities of herders in the zone, saying that MACBAN members’ interests in the region is purely economic and nothing more.
He decried erroneous impression of non-Muslims in the zone that some herdsmen were harbingers of Fulani territorial expansionism, a situation he said has degenerated into uncomfortable situation and unhealthy relationships in most parts of the zone.
He called for an increased dialogue between herders and their host communities on one hand and herders and farmers on the other hand, saying such would help to create an atmospheres of mutual trust and understanding.
Gidado assured that MACBAN would not succumb to the pressure of hiding any member found wanting.
