President Muhammadu Buhari has urged all Nigerians to seize the opportunity of this year’s Eid-el-Maulud to reflect on the virtues of the Holy Prophet by showing love and understanding for fellow citizens.
He also urged Nigerians to avert second wave of COVID-19 in Nigeria, saying the nation’s economy cannot bear another round of lockdown.
Buhari’s position was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled “President Buhari welcomes Maulud, urges love and understanding among citizens.”
The statement read, “As Muslims in Nigeria join others all over the world to mark the Eid-el-Maulud, President Muhammadu Buhari has urged all citizens to use the occasion to reflect on the virtues of the Holy Prophet by showing love and understanding for fellow citizens while exhibiting patience, honesty, sincerity, kindness, and generosity in all their undertakings.
“In a message to Muslims commemorating the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) which is being marked as public holiday, the President urged all citizens, and the youths in particular, to shun all negative tendencies as manifested in the recent hijacking of peaceful protests to loot and destroy public and private property.
“He also reiterated his earlier promise to bring police officers responsible for misconduct as well as the looters to justice.”
Shehu also said on the COVID-19 pandemic, Buhari noted that the country has so far managed the problem successfully by keeping the numbers as low as possible.
He said the President however cautioned that Nigerians must not stretch their luck too far.
“Looking at the trends in the other countries, we must do all we can to avert the second wave of the pandemic. We must make sure that our cases, which have gone down, do not rise again. Our economy is too fragile to bear another round of lockdown,” he quoted the President as saying.
He said Buhari, therefore, advised all citizens to continue to observe the COVID-19 protocols of social distancing, wearing of face masks and washing of hands.
