The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC),Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has described the series of killings and bombings in the country as a national tragedy.
Oloyede told newsmen in Ibadan on Monday that he was particularly worried that the killings were on the increase despite all efforts to curtail it. “It is a national tragedy which defiles all logic, all civility, it puts the nation on trial’’, he said.
Oloyede, who doubles as the Secretary-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, (NSCIA), urged all Nigerians across all denominations to jettison political and religious propaganda, adding that the nation was going through a trial and “all hands must be on the deck to collectively combat these calamities’’.
“We must all rescue our nation from impending doom and ensure that we restore peace and sanity in our country’’ Oloyede said.
He also called on men of goodwill to do all within their powers to curtail the menace which has taken a dangerous dimension of killing innocent school children.
“While we appreciate the efforts of government and other security agencies, we urge them to be more tactical and strategic in confronting the unfortunate development’, he said.
Prof. Oloyede equally called on all parents, to take good care of their children and prevent them from taking hard drugs or join a bad gang, which he said in most cases, the root cause of the problem.
He commiserated with the families of those killed and called on the security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the act.
Also, the Criterion, a group of Muslim Women in business and professions,in a statement signed by its National President, Saudat Abu Baqi also condemned the killing of 43 students of the Federal Government College, Yobe and other killings in the country.
“It is saddening that innocent promising children could be cut down in their prime while in search of knowledge,’’ regretting that the wanton killings in the North Eastern part of the country have dampened the sense of security and brought instead, fears and grieves of attacks.
Criterion called on the Federal Government to deploy all machinery at its disposal to preserve human lives, restore human dignity and project Nigeria as a country safe for all.
“We also call on well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of their religious or cultural leaning, to shun personal bigotry and join hands with relevant authorities in finding solution to the scourge.