Wife of Kwara governor Amb. Olufolake AbdulRazaq says relegating prayer to the background amid the challenges facing the country is a denial of the function of faith/religion in the society.
The wife of the governor said this in Ilorin on Monday, at a prayer session she organised for the restoration peace and security in the country.
She said security was everyone’s business and enjoined religious leaders to promote peaceful coexistence in their sermons considering that the security situation in the country had become a worrisome matter.
She urged mothers to be pick interest in the kind of company their children kept and to ensure that they instilled morality inj them to make them responsible citizens.
AbdulRazaq urged Nigerians to be vigilant and to share vital information with security agencies in the event of suspicious activities around them.
“We are all aware that the security situation in the country is one that calls for concern and as such, as we continue to support the government in their effort to assuage the security challenges bedeviling the country.
“It behooves on us as citizens to put our nation in prayers.
“You will agree with me that leaving out prayers amid Nigeria’s challenges is tantamount to ignoring the latent functions of faith and religion in human society.
“It is in this regard that the first lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dr Aisha Buhari and the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen charged state first ladies to organise prayer sessions to seek the face of the Almighty God to restore peace and calm in troubled regions of the country.
“As we pray for Nigeria, let us also continue to pray for more development and continued peace and cohesiveness in Kwara.
“I enjoin all religious leaders to let the importance of peace and harmonious living reflect in their teachings.
“I am also using this event to urge mothers to be conscious of the company their children or wards keep and instill in them virtues that will make them peaceful citizens,’’ she said.
Earlier, Secretary to the State Government Prof. Jibrin Shaba-Mammah had described prayer as a most powerful tool.
Mammah urged women not to be weak in their prayer life but to remain strong in praying for peace in the state and in the country at large.
He described the prayer session as a timely event.
He prayed God to restore peace in Nigeria and to secure the lives and property of the people.
In his remarks, Mr Razak Owolabi, a member of the Kwara House of Assembly(KWHA) urged Nigerians to love one another.
According to him, peace and stability will replace kidnapping and killings once there is love among Nigerians.
An Islamic Cleric, Alhaji Muhammed Eyonbo-Anabi likened the current troubles in the country to the trials Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed passed through but overcame after fervent prayers.
Eyonbo-Anabi prayed for peace in the country and advised Nigerian leaders to contribute their quota toward tackling insecurity.
Ven Olukayode Omolaja, in his charge said peace and security were important ingredients in societal growth.
Taking his charge from the book of John 16:33 in the Bible, Omolaja said human security could fail, but security from God “can never fail”, hence the need for prayer.
He prayed for God to restore peace in the country.
Words of prayers for peace and security in the country were said by Evang. Maria Bukoye, the Kwara Chairperson, Women’s Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) and Malimat Bilkis Jawondo, a representative of the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN).
