As Muslims across the world converge in the holy land of Mecca for the lesser Hajji, The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has advised Nigerian Muslims who are performing the spiritual exercise to be good ambassadors and pray fervently for Nigeria to overcome her prevailing security and other challenges for the preservation of her pride in the international community.
Ahmed made the call in Ilorin on Monday in a message to Muslim faithful in the state on the eve of their departure to Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajji.
The governor noted that it was only in a peaceful atmosphere that the potentials of Nigeria could be achieved, adding: “We need peace for the ultimate transformation of our dear country from a potentially great one to a pride of the black race, anywhere in the world.”
He also called on the people of the state to remain ceaseless in their support and prayers for the realisation of his administration’s shared prosperity programme designed to transform the state from a core civil service state to an economic hub of the nation.
Ahmed urged all Muslims and Nigerians at large to use the remaining period of the holy month of Ramadan to benchmark the spirit of good neighbourliness and good practices in their individual and national lives.
“Nigerians should always bear in mind that it was God’s design that we are of diverse religious and ethnic persuasions, which should be our point of strength rather than weakness,” he said.