The Federal Government has announced Monday, October 10, 2022, as a national holiday to commemorate this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlid Celebration in honor of Prophet Muhammad’s birth.
Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, who made the statement on behalf of the Federal Government, thanked all Muslims, both at home and abroad, on witnessing this year’s event.
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 6, in Abuja and signed by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, the Minister “admonishes all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues and which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exemplified, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country.”
Aregbesola enjoins Nigerians, particularly Muslims, to refrain from violence, lawlessness and other acts of criminality. “As the indisputable leader of our race, we must demonstrate responsible leadership in Africa”, the Minister stated.
While calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, the Minister urges all Nigerians, and the youth in particular, to embrace the virtues of hard work and peaceful disposition to fellow humans, irrespective of faith, ideology, social class and ethnicity and join hands with the President Muhammadu Buhari led-Administration in its effort to build a progressive and enviable nation that all citizens would be proud of.
The Minister urged Nigerians to be security conscious, asking them to report any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest security agency and through the N-Alert application on Android and IOS, saying “when you see something do N-Alert, as this would elicit prompt response from security agents“.
The Minister wished all Muslims a happy celebration and Nigerians a happy holiday.