President Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerians that “religion should be the moral compass for all believers in their public and personal lives.”
This is even as he has appealed to ordinary Nigerians to stop glorifying thieves by treating them with disdain for bringing hardships to others.
In his Sallah message to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting period, President Muhammadu stressed the need of putting the virtues of Islam into practice beyond the fasting season.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted the President as saying that “if people allow the teachings of their religions to influence their conducts, problems such as corruption, which diverts public funds to private pockets, would have been eliminated in the society.”
Buhari regretted, however, that “selfishness and greed have overcome people’s conscience so much that they don’t have moral inhibitions in the pursuit of their greed.
“It is impossible to separate morality from religion, and removing this connection encourages corrupt leaders and other exploiters to commit atrocities against the society.
“I always wonder why any true believer, be they politicians, civil servants or businessmen, would seek to make profits from the misfortunes of others”, he added.
President Buhari enjoined religious leaders to always pray for peace and unity in the country and avoid making inflammatory utterances that endanger peace or promote conflicts.
He also appealed to Nigerians to forgive one another and embrace peace.
He urged Muslims in the country not to forget the lessons learnt during the Holy month of Ramadan.
While congratulating Muslims on completing “this spiritually significant month of sacrifice”, he urged them to reflect on the importance of Ramadan in becoming good ambassadors of Islam at all times.
The President congratulated the families of recipients of national honours for showing good examples to Nigerians and urged other country men and women to copy their good examples.
He thanked Nigerians for their patience and assured that their sacrifices will not be in vain, adding that reforming a country that was pushed into near decay on account of corruption comes with teething pains.
Meanwhile, Friday and Monday next week have been declared public holidays by the Federal Government.
