Nigerians display open religiosity without fear of God, thereby deepening socio-economic challenges affecting the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
He said most of the challenges affecting the nation can be eradicated if Nigerians truly put the teachings of their religion to use.
The president disclosed this in his Eid-el-Kabir message to signed by his spokesperson Garba Shehu on Saturday.
Buhari said Nigerians should use religion as a motivation for the love of our shared humanity.
He said if Nigerians put the teachings of their religion into practice, most of the evils afflicting the nation would have been solved.
The statement said, “The exploitation of the people by traders and the stealing of public funds by civil servants and other holders of public trust is a reflection of the abandonment of the teachings of our religions,” he said.
“Our society is a bundle of contradictions. People display external religiosity without fear of God; they make life difficult for others; money becomes their god; leaders abandon their oaths of office by taking money meant for the welfare of the people and divert it to their private pockets.
“Religion should not just be used as a mere badge of identity, but as a motivator for doing good for our country and humanity.”
He congratulated the Muslim faithful on the Eid celebration, advising them “to promote the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practice,” adding that “Muslims should avoid association with violent extremist ideas that have wrongly given Islam a negative image or poor perception.”
On the current security challenges and costs of living in the country, he assured Nigerians that “I won’t rest until I bring relief to Nigerians,” adding that “I am quite aware of the difficulties people are facing and working to resolve them”.
