Nigerians have learnt religion in politics is counterproductive –Cleric
… Calls for proper parenting in homes
By Stephen Gbadamosi
The Chief Imam of the University of Ibadan (UI) Central Mosque, Professor Abdulrahman Oloyede, has said the people of Nigeria have learnt that seeking political positions on the basis of religion has done more damage than good on the nation.
Professor Oloyede, who made this declaration in a sermon after the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at the weekend on the university campus, also charged parents to be wary of the social media influence in the process of their children upbringing.
“Our message for the incoming government is that they should learn from the outgoing government; when they were coming in, people in power behave like it would last forever; but come May 29, it will be all over.
“When they come, they should start as if tomorrow will be the end of the administration. They should try and give Nigeria what will make Nigeria peaceful and make Nigerians happy. If they think they have so many years ahead of them, it will be unfortunate.
“We are human beings and we are bound to falter here and there; but if we falter, we should quickly retrace our steps. That is what we have learnt in Ramadan. You retrace your steps and ask Allah to keep on guiding you. That’s the meaning of ihdina srantal mustakim.
“Nigeria would have seen by now that it is not in our interest to use religion to canvass for political positions. Rather than give us the way forward, it causes us so much problem. We have become more divided than ever before, on account of using religion as campaign premise.
“What is important is for whoever is in power to be fair and fear Allah. If you are just to all manner of people, nobody would want to care what religion you practice. Just like people said during the campaign, when you want to board an aircraft, you don’t ask if the pilot is a Muslim or Christian; you want a competent pilot to fly you.
“That is how it should be. But we must have learnt our lessons by now that it doesn’t help us to put religion at the front burner in politics. But more importantly, people raised that issue because they have seen injustice here and there.
“Let those in power be just and leave Allah to handle the rest. The moment they derail on the scale of justice, everything would catapult. That’s what happens,” he said.
Speaking about the decay in behavior among the youth, Professor Oloyede added that “we said two things about life; life here and in the hereafter. Another point is how we raise our children. It is important we raise good human beings for the sake of the future of Islam and future of Nigeria.
“Today, it is not a matter of pride to say Muslim children live wayward life. Something is wrong about the way we are raising our children. We must endeavour to do something about that, not only for the benefit of Islam, but for Nigeria as a whole.
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“One of the key factors in the way children are getting derailed these days is technology. Parents must be wary and must be watchful about the way their children handle the social media and technology.
“We must be careful the way we allow them access to these media, because they are one of the factors that derail our youths.”
