By Salisu Sani-Idris
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has advised Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice and extend love for one another irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliations.
Mohammed, who is one of the 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims currently performing Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Muna, Makkah, on Thursday.
The governor emphasised the need for Nigerian pilgrims to use the opportunity of this year’s pilgrimage to pray for the country to overcome security and economic challenges confronting the nation.
“So we need to pray for our leaders, pray for unity and guidance, especially for all our new and old leaders. We should pray for development, peace, and unity, we should pray against insecurity and of course bad governance.
“We should be ready to sacrifice and extend love for one another in respective of tribe, religion and political association. We must always remember that we are all one as humanity.
“You see the beauty and the commonality. Hajj is so excellent that it has shown the universality of mankind. And so my message is that we should tolerate one another and love each other.
“We should wish the best for each one of us so that together we can build a nation that will be the pride of everybody. We should pray for each other and pray for our leaders, and for the entire country,” he urged.
Besides, the governor called on leaders at all levels to shun greediness and promote good governance.
Mohammed said: “Some of us that have been given leadership, definitely have our shortcomings, limitations and our inadequacies. Some of our shortcomings are bothered by greediness. May God make us overcome all these challenges and limitations.
“May we have security, and may our economy be good so that we can take care of the vulnerable and the disadvantaged, the teeming youths and women that are looking for self-actualisation.
“Of course, is a new beginning and Nigeria needs a lot of prayers, African continent requires prayer, we need to see beyond our country. Because there is a lot of hope on Nigeria and we cannot afford to disappoint.” (NAN)
