For the umpteenth time, some Islamic groups have called on the Federal and State Governments to declare Muharram 1, the first day of the Islamic Hijrah year, as a public holiday.
The groups, in their separate Hijrah 1437 A.H messages, said such a declaration would be in line with the rule of law, fairness and justice to Muslims in the country.
The groups are the Muslim Community of Oyo State, Muslim Consultative Forum, Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association and Movement for Islamic Culture Awareness.
Others are the Bodija Muslim Youth Forum, National Council of Muslim Youths Organisations, Muslim Rights Concern and Muslim Students Society of Nigeria.
Others are the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria, Muslim Ummah of South West of Nigeria and Islamic Media Awareness Forum among others.
In its Hijrah 1437 message, the Muslim Community of Oyo State has called on Governor Isiaka Ajimobi of Oyo State to declare a public holiday for the residents of the state.
The message, signed by Alhaji Kunle Sanni and Mursiq Siyanbade, Chairman and Secretary respectively, urged Ajimobi to emulate his colleague in Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, by declaring a similar Hijrah holiday in the state.
The Community also used the occasion to implore Muslims to turn a new leaf by jettisoning bad behaviour and embracing a new way of life in line with the dictates of Islam.
MCF, in its statement signed by its Coordinator, Malam Idris Usman, urged the Federal Government to give recognition to Muslim New Year in the interest of fairness and in consonance with change mantra.
Usman said such recognition would be in line with world practices and be fair to the large population of Muslims in Nigeria.
MMPN in its statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said declaring Muharram 1 a public holiday would give Muslims a sense of belonging.
It said that Muharram 1 was equivalent to January 1, which is observed as a public holiday in Nigeria.
“Muharram 1, is our own January 1, we want both the Federal and State governments alike to declare it as such in the interest of religious harmony in the country,” Balogun said.
UNIFEMGA National President, Prof. AbdulWahab Egbewole, in his message, called on the government at various levels to recognise the Hijrah calendar and use it side by side with the Gregorian calendar.
He congratulated Muslims and non-Muslims alike for witnessing another new Islamic year and urged them to reflect on their deeds and activities during the past year.
Egbewole also used the occasion to task all stakeholders in the education sector to put in more efforts in the interest of education advancement in the country.
In the same vein, MSSN in its Hijrah message hailed those governors who had declared Muharram 1, as public holiday, and urged other State Governors and the Federal government to emulate.
The body urged Muslim Students to shun bad behaviour, excel in their studies and avoid being used by Politicians for their selfish political interest.
Hajia Sururah Oyero, FOMWAN National Public Relations Officer, expressed regrets that the security challenges facing the country were enormous and require urgent attention.
Oyero called on the Federal Government to properly equip the security agencies to enable them carry out its functions of protection of lives and property in the country.
While condoling families of victims of various insurgencies and stampede in Saudi Arabia, FOMWAN called on Nigerians to complement the efforts of both the State and the Federal Governments by providing useful information to relevant agencies that could aid them in carrying out their respective duties
In its message, the Bodija Muslim Youth Forum stated that the declaration and recognition of Hijrah was long overdue and called for its immediate implementation.
It called on the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to enter into dialogue with the Federal Government on the issue and work out its implementation.
On its part, the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations implored Muslims to rededicate themselves to the cause of building an egalitarian society and join hands with other Nigerians in moving the nation forward.
In its Hijrah statement, its National President, Alhaji kamal’ddin Akintunde, reminded Nigerians that the task of making the country a virile nation was a collective responsibility of everybody.
Akintunde described the series of attacks on innocent Nigerians by some insurgency groups as unIslamic and pleaded with the affected groups to cease fire and stop violence as a demonstration of its readiness to embrace peace.
In its own message, Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society felicitated with Muslims worldwide for Allah’s mercies in 1436 A.H and prayed that the New Year 1437A.H. would usher in better things for all Nigerians.
“As we herald in the New Year, we again call on the Federal Government to initiate and implement people-friendly programmes that will ensure food security, economic empowerment, security of lives and property and adequate power supply,” its Director, Imam Fuad Adeyemi, said.
Muslims in Nigeria joined other faithful worldwide to usher in the new Islamic year Hijrah 1437A.H. on October 14.