By Tayo Alabi
President Muhammadu Buhari in his Sallah message charged Muslims in Nigeria not to let their faith in God be dampened by the scourge of the global health crisis caused by the (COVID-19) Pandemic.
President Buhari, bemoaned the fact that Muslims had suffered harsh conditions in a bid to keep themselves and the world around them safe, including being prevented from the important traditional practices that would usually go along with the Ramadan fasting.
The President, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said “no government would intentionally impose these tough and demanding measures on its citizens if it had a choice.”
In his Sallah message to Muslims on the occasion of Eid-el-Fitr, the President noted that “for the first time in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the people’s spiritual, social and economic lives.”
“Let me use this opportunity to commend the sacrifices of both Muslims and Christians for their cooperation in the enforcement of the social distancing guidelines. I am well aware of the inconveniences these tough measures have brought on the lives of Nigerians, including limiting religious activities and gatherings in large numbers,” the President noted.
President Buhari also appealed to other Nigerians “whose businesses and means of livelihoods were badly affected by the prolonged lockdown measures for their understanding and cooperation.”
He assured Nigerians that the lockdown measures would not go on longer than necessary because they would be reviewed from time to time to ease the increasing hardships on the people.
