A renowned Islamic scholar, Mufti Ismail ibn Musa Menk, has revealed why he came to Nigeria and visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Speaking shortly after he meeting with the Nigerian leader on Friday, Mufti Menk, who doubles as the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe’s Muslim community and the head of the fatwa department for the Council of Islamic Scholars of Zimbabwe, stated that he and other Islamic scholars were in Abuja for a peace and unity convention scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
Addressing the press, the Islamic scholar emphasized the importance of Nigerians living together in harmony and respecting one another, regardless of their different faiths and backgrounds, in order to witness the success of the nation.
Speaking further on the planned convention, he said it aims to empower Nigeria to nurture peaceful coexistence and appreciate the need for unity among its citizens. Menk also mentioned that the delegation of scholars from across the globe had attended a similar convention in Lagos the previous weekend.
Mufti Menk, who said countries failed when citizens refused to respect their leadership, added that Nigeria could be the best nation in Africa and a shining example for the rest of the continent when citizens rallied behind the leadership, contributed positively and served the country with uprightness and honesty.
“We need to be a united people, we need to respect each other, the leadership that we have, we should appreciate it, we should acknowledge it. We should understand that if we are going to respect our leadership, we will be able to achieve as a nation. If you look at the countries that have failed, it’s because they don’t respect their leadership, and they actually fail as a result.
“But if we are going to rally behind the leadership and ensure that every one of us contributes positively to this nation, Nigeria can be the best nation in Africa, and in all honesty, I believe the population, the resources and everything we have in Nigeria myself being an African coming from Zimbabwe, we always look at Nigeria as one of the biggest economies. If not the biggest in Africa, I believe it is the right time to be upright and honest and to serve the nation, and in this way, we will be able to be a shining example for the rest of Africa. I always pray that we can be upright as citizens, and that way, we will achieve more than what we’ve actually dreamt of,” Daily Trust quoted the Islamic scholar as saying.
