An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Nurudeen Lemu, has urged Nigerians, irrespective of their status or religion, to work together to make Nigeria a better place to live by coming together to contribute towards its progress and stability.
Sheikh Lemu, who is a trustee of Islamic Education Trust (IET), gave the admonition as a keynote speaker at the 15th Annual State Lecture of The Muslim Congress (TMC), held at the auditorium of the National Mosque, Abuja.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Nation Building Through Ethical Leadership: Taking Ownership of Our Roles’, Lemu charged Nigerians to see the country as their property and not a rented one as it is by so doing that Nigeria can become a country for everyone to be proud of.
Lemu, who is also an advocate of interfaith dialogue, charged leaders and led them to play their roles accordingly, adding that it is only under an atmosphere of peace and justice that a society can make progress.
He said: ‘It’s the day we stop renting Nigeria and we start to own Nigeria and its problems that we’ll begin to solve our problems. But, so long as we believe that Nigeria is somebody else’s problem, then you’re part of that problem. Allah doesn’t change the condition of the people, just like you’ll not be more valued if you are not more valuable.
‘We need more of intergroup cohesion, rather than in-group cohesion to make Nigeria work. We have to learn that we will have peace-building with people of another faith. Let’s be careful how we describe our country. Otherwise, we’ll use our religion to undermine what our religion is promoting.’
He added: ‘The next President is not going to come from somewhere else to Nigeria. The next governor is going to graduate from the same secondary school. The people in the ministries are not coming from another place. They are homegrown. Every event by an organisation is a contribution and investment into the next quality of leaders we get.’
Also in their separate remarks, Professor Mukhtar Imam and Barrister Hauwa Usman, said the role of family in a child’s upbringing cannot be overemphasised, calling on parents to bring forth children with the fear of God and whose mindset will.