Sallah: Between Eid-el-Kabir and civic responsibility
By Isaac Olusesi
Nigerians have been told to draw sufficient teachings from the correlation between civic responsibility and the rich details of Eid-el-Kabir, a gratitude event that denotes obedience and fulfilment of pledge to the Almighty, and applying the precepts daily as civic responsibility, would make the governed, trust efficient and confidence, proficient in the governance of the nation in order to boost government’s obligation towards providing essential public goods, Dr Thomas Olaleye Ogungbangbe has said as Muslims internationally celebrate this year’s great El-Id- Kabir, routed in the homogeneous scriptural accounts of the Islamic and Christian theologies.
He added that, if, within the shared principles of Ibrahimic (Abrahamic) full obedience or submission and fulfilment of the promise to sacrifice the only son to Allah (may peace be upon Him), the nation’s political, traditional and spiritual leaders and the led can adhere practically to the contents of the national anthem and national pledge, then our country would be on the ascent to increased greatness.
The originality of the vital twin issues of total obedience and fulfilment of the promise or pledge is germane to the nation’s collective heritage and its power of positive attitudinal change in the general citizenry to act responsibly and input trust and confidence in the government. Otherwise, a Nigerian who’s standoffish, indifferent, and not creating cooperative conditions, necessary for our collective growth as a nation, is a threat to the rest of the country.
Meaning that “the Ministry of Information & National Orientation as the custodian of national values would have to redouble efforts to get the ample values of Sallah, internalised in every Nigerian, ultimately to make everyone contribute to the nation’s overall development and progress,” stated, Ogungbangbe, a politician of high wheel in IjesaNorth Federal Constituency of Osun State.
The politician opined that such overall development and progress we all crave for, would come if politicians stop the habituated despatches of discontents across, to whip up grouping sentiments, or bankroll hate projects against one and another, with a view to smearing leadership cohesion, corporate existence, and achievements as a political party, over elections, positions, or whatever. This is ostensibly, expressive of the Hadith of Prophet Mohammed (SAW) in Sahih Muslim’s “prohibiting the covetous desire for positions of authority, but the one who’s granted an elective or appointive position by consensus _(sura)_ carries the responsibilities of the vicegerency of Allah (may peace upon Him) to make the world a better place.”
While Ogungbangbe gladly joined the Muslim world and particularly, Muslims in the Osun East, comprising Ife/Ijesa zone of the state and felicitated all, on the joyous occasion of Eid al- Adha in memory of Prophet Ibrahim’s obedience and submission to God, he prayed for more of the celebration of the occasion in the years ahead.
He bemoaned the generality of individuals, including politicians who make political promises, not meant to be obeyed or fulfilled, and asked that such empty promises should be pocketed, with a charge to step up instead, reality promises, important to development politics and economy, society and culture, as well as science and technology.
And the development, he said, would be much more worthwhile at the grassroots when individuals, across faiths, and corporate organisations share love, charity, other cares, and not shrug off to hurt help seekers and the needy, those experiencing loss of education and morbidity, malnutrition and homelessness, child labour and low esteem, depression and anger, and, loss of faith and fear. He cited such notable needy in the earliest times of their respective lives who eventually made it in life, like Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Leo Tolstoy, and Tony Ubah, as the essence of good assistance to the impoverished. Or, the poor.
OLUSESI writes via
