The first lady, Aisha Buhari, has urged Nigerians to pray to God for the end of COVID-19, as Nigeria prepares to mark her 60th independence anniversary.
She made the call on Friday in Abuja at the 60th Independence Day Public Lecture and Special Juma’at Prayer held at the Abuja National Mosque, with the theme “Together Nigeria at 60: The Imperative of Building a Nation Together”.
According to her, it is important for Nigerians to offer special prayers for peace, progress and sustainable development of the country in this milestone celebration.
“We need to pray for forgiveness and special prayers for forgiveness.
“The world is no longer the same as a result of the pandemic and the pandemic is a sign that Almighty God is not happy with us.
“I think we have no choice than to continue asking for forgiveness from Almighty Allah,” she said.
She also urged leaders to always ensure justice to all.
“The president cannot do it alone, he needs the support and cooperation of all Nigerians, including his appointees, to go in line with his change mantra,” she added.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha, urged Nigerians to think and dwell more on issues and principles that unite the citizenry as a nation, rather than engaging in divisive tendencies.
He described the anniversary as a milestone worthy of celebration as the nation marches to greater achievements.
The guest lecturer, Arc. Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, noted that when Britain colonised Nigeria, it weaponized all fault lines including tribe, ethnicity, region and religion, among others into tools of political intrigues for supremacy, thereby effectively dividing the nation’s forebears into ethnic lines.
According to him, deep-routed mutual suspicion and rivalry, low social cohesion and intermittent internal conflicts became the order of the day.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, urged Nigerians to unite in the fight against corruption.
He also condemned disobedience of lawful court orders, saying it was capable of drawing the country back from growth and development, and warned that the current judiciary headed by him would no longer tolerate such behaviour which he said was an invitation to anarchy.