By Emmanuel Obisue
Prominent cleric and former governorship aspirant in Kaduna State, Sheikh Ahmad Tijjani Umar has urged Nigerians not to be deterred by the worsening economic hardship occasioned by policies of President Bola Tinubu, but instead switch to praying for the president and country to succeed.
The Chairman, Youth Dainker Tijjaniya in Africa who noted that Nigeria has the most faithful Muslims and Christians globally, called for a rechanneling of those religiousness into praying for the country’s leadership.
Decrying the rising cost of petrol and other consumables, he lamented that past Nigerian leaders had destroyed the country. “It takes one second to destroy, and 10 years to repair,” he said, adding that Nigerian leaders are not “just and sincere”.
“We pray that Allah supports president Tinubu’s agenda to save Nigeria. Let’s go back to prayers and be patient with Tinubu.
“When you are handicapped, you take your Bible or Quran to seek God for a soft landing,” he added.
Sheikh Ahmad cautioned young people in Nigeria to shun actions likened to fighting the government. “Most of the countries that chose to fight their leaders ended up sending millions of citizens to the grave,” the Chairman of Aftech Industries added.
He expressed confidence that God will not allow the recent prediction of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, that Nigerians may have to endure between 15 to 20 years before they begin to reap the dividends of Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Ahmad who contested for the number one seat in Kaduna at the last governorship election under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, called for the reopening of borders to allow inflow of food, and a sincere and transparent return of subsidy to cushion escalating hardship. “The minimum wage of civil servants today is N70,000 and a bag of rice is N140,000. How do you measure that?”