Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat has called on Nigerians irrespective of class, tribe, or religion to shun greed and maintain integrity in all sectors for the country to experience the growth and development everyone craves.
Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat gave the advice on Saturday at the opening ceremony of the 36th Triennial National Conference of the Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN), themed: “Nigeria and the Prospects of Socio-Economic Stability”, held at the Headquarters of the Association in Surulere, Lagos.
The Deputy Governor added that Nigerians must have great love for the country and be more patriotic. He said, “The love of our country is very important. We must love our country and all sectors must maintain integrity, we must all cut greed”.
Speaking further, Dr. Hamzat charged Muslim Clerics and other religious leaders in the country to always base their teachings on values and topics that proffer solutions to contemporary issues to bring about necessary social changes needed for the growth and development of the country.
He noted that they should always use religion to preach peace and bring people together for the upliftment of the country rather than using it to bring disunity among citizens of the country.
Stressing the importance of the family unit in the overall development of the nation, Dr. Hamzat said that nothing can lead to development when the family unit is broken. He therefore admonished parents to take good care of their children and train them to know the essence of life, shun social vices and always know that hard work pays.
He also urged them to ensure that the family unit takes its rightful position in society as of old, where everyone knows his or her responsibility and effectively discharges it. The Deputy Governor said that parents must teach their children their languages, morals and values, adding that “If we lose our values, we will lose ourselves”.
Speaking on the theme of the Conference, “Nigeria and the Prospects of Socio-Economic Stability”, the Guest Lecturer, Dr. Saheed Timehin of the Department of Foreign Languages, Lagos State University, Ojo, stressed the need for a new socio-economic ideology in meeting the challenging order in the country.
He stated that the major problem of the country is value change, saying “If one looks at the interjectory of what has happened since independence, one will note that Nigeria needs a change in the attitude of the citizenry. This is the reason many times when the government makes a policy, it is difficult to relate with such policy because our attitudes are not what they should be”.
The Guest Lecturer disclosed that there is something fundamental that has changed in the way we now train our children as material gain is now celebrated than good character and values.
Dr. Timehin, therefore, emphasised the need for us as a nation to change the way we train our children who are leaders of tomorrow; as we must train generations that value hard work and know that Allah ties success, growth and prosperity to hard work and not by shortcuts or money rituals”.
While charging Muslims to be conscious in their deeds as everyone will give an account of all they do both on earth and thereafter, he enjoined them to always compete with what is good and not evil.
Earlier in his welcome address, the President, Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Tajudeen Olajide Ojikutu said, the association was established to among other things; cater to the spiritual, moral and socioeconomic needs of Muslim Ummah, cooperate with other Muslim organisations for the propagation of Islamic faith and promote education and scholarship among the generality of Muslims.
He added that to sustain the stated objectives, the association has embarked on proper branding of the association to make it relevant, vibrant and development-oriented in the comity of Islamic Associations and placement of education on the front burner by the formation of a national education board as well the enhancement and continuous sustenance of the laid down design of the association’s developmental process.
