President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Islamic faithfuls to halt all forms of violent dispositions against innocent people.
The President who called on Muslims to be tolerant and continue to work for peace, unity, national integration, and peaceful coexistence in his Eid- el- Kabir Sallah message to Muslims in the country, also urged them to “be the mirror through which others see the good virtues of our faith.’’
Buhari, an ardent believer in the Islamic faith, regretted that failure to check the activities of those preaching indiscriminate violence against innocent people fueled the insurgency in the country, which has claimed well over 30,000 lives from 1990 to date.
The President regretted that “violent extremism is the greatest challenge facing Islam today,” adding that “the only way we can neutralise its evil influence is to distance ourselves from the activities and teachings of those who preach indiscriminate violence against innocent people. And this flies in the face of the teachings of Islam.’’
Nigeria’s war against insurgency which also led to the displacement of over two million people, started with the extremists’ opposition to democratic government and rejection of Western education, as Boko Haram, or “ Western education is forbidden” was spread by the extremists and accepted by the people
The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World Aalysis Paper| No. 22 of January 2016, indicated that these extremists’ ideological sermons and propaganda were shared through videos and recorded sermons, primarily in Hausa and Arabic.
Currently, the country is witnessing the rise of a new set of violent extremism against innocent persons propagated by the Fulani herdsmen through killings, kidnapping, armed robberies and even rape.
The latest scourge has provoked anger amongst the peace-loving people who see such unprovoked acts as attempts to further propagate Islamic hegemonies by forceful occupation.
But the President, in his message, vowed to ensure that the Boko Haram terrorism, kidnappings and other forms of banditry “would be dealt with uncompromisingly until we see the back of these evils plaguing our country.’’
President Buhari noted that “Boko Haram became a deadly force and a major security scourge because Muslim societies were indifferent from the beginning to the activities of extremist preachers who manipulate innocent and gullible followers.’’
The President declared that “extremism is like a cancer, which must be detected and destroyed from its early stages of growth.’’
He noted that the greatest commitment to Islam is for Muslims to put its good virtues into practice, and by making justice and righteousness the guiding principle of their everyday life.
According to him, “Islam is a religion of peace and we should avoid violent extremist ideas that give Islam a wrong name because our conducts leave more lasting positive impressions than what we say by word of mouth.’’
He also advised parents to “protect their children from the deadly exposure to violent extremists who manipulate and exploit those children for their own evil agenda.’’
“Despite occasional setbacks’’, the President explained that “the Boko Haram militants have been so militarily weakened and scattered by our Armed Forces that they are no longer in a position to occupy any part of Nigeria, let alone hoist their flag and impose their reign of terror longer than 24 hours.’’
“As our armed forces get more equipped and trained, in addition to being more motivated and reinvigorated, this administration is relentlessly committed to protecting Nigerians no matter what it takes to bring a permanent end to this evil,’’ the President further assured Nigerians.
