Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Sunday called on Nigerians to shun prejudice and hatred for one another in the name of religion or other differences, calling instead for support for the oppressed people of the world.
AbdulRazaq said in a speech at a rally commemorating the 1441 Islamic New Year (Hijrah) in Ilorin, the state capital, that one major lesson from the travails of the early Muslims and the support they got from their Christian neighbours was that “our common humanity triumphs hatred and prejudice.”
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Dr Yusuf Manjo, the event was attended by the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, and several other dignitaries.
The Governor said the prophet’s migration offered a lot of lessons for the Muslims, non-Muslims and the international community at large.
“It showed how we can join hands to assist the oppressed and the persecuted for the sake of humanity. I believe these are key lessons for every Nigerian at this critical phase of our country,” AbdulRazaq said at the event organised by the Kwara State chapter of the Hijrah Ummatul Islamiyyah.
“The Hijrah remains an evergreen and historic moment for the Muslim community. That development forms a critical part of human civilisation because the various phases of Hijrah, especially the conduct of the prophet and his lieutenants, exposed us to the global best practices of dealing with oppression and persecution.”
AbdulRazaq said the 2019 election represented a sort of Hijrah for the people of Kwara as it marked a paradigm shift in their political history, adding however that the development meant that things must be done differently to achieve different results.
He added: “But just like the Hijrah presented the early Muslims with the opportunity to establish a government based on the principle of justice and fairness, I believe our victory in the 2019 polls offered us the opportunity to prove to the naysayers that we are different from the people we criticised so much.