The month of Ramadan is gradually grinding to a halt and Nigerian Muslims are warming up to join fellow faithfuls across the globe in marking Id al-Fitr.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) felicitated with the head of all Nigerian Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar III, all heads of Islamic organizations in the country and the Nigerian people in general.
It seized the opportunity of the successful completion of Ramadan to show the group’s appreciation to the Federal Government for identifying with the Nigerian people in their hour of need, particularly in the area of the provision of jobs and stipends for the youths through the introduction of N-Power from which about 200,000 youths have benefitted and are receiving N30,000 monthly.
Equally gratifying, according to MURIC, is the revelation that about 1,051,000 pupils are now benefitting from the Home Grown School Feeding programme (HGSFP) in 8,587 schools in seven states across the country, as well as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme from which 26,942 poor Nigerians have been receiving N5,000 monthly stipend.
While applauding these humanitarian and welfaristic programmes, it called the FG’s attention to the plight of senior citizens throughout Nigeria, the elderly and retired men and women who have devoted the most productive part of their lives to serve this country. They, it says, should not be treated like ordinary oranges whose delicious juice is squeezed and sucked while the useless peel is thrown away.
“We call for a special welfare package for senior citizens from the age of sixty and above to have one free meal per day, special free buses at designated places and times and free medical care.”
It also appealed to the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to set free the 54 soldiers, whose insistence on the supply of effective weapons to fight Boko Haram insurgents sparked off the $2.1 billion arms investigation.
“They have been languishing in jail for the past two years for exposing a fraud of monumental proportion in the army.
“They are different from the 12 soldiers who fired shots at their commander. FG must separate the wheat from the chaff. We must not treat heroes like rebels and mutineers.”
It appealed to Nigerians, particularly those who have just completed the Ramadan fasting, to continue to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari and our dear country Nigeria with peace, unity and prosperity as prayer points.