From Ahmed Muhammed Danasabe, Lokoja
The Kogi State chapter of the Council Of Ulama’u (KSCU) on Sunday unveiled the 1446 Islamic calendar with a call on the Federal and State Governments in Nigeria to declare Muharram 1, the first day of the Islamic Calendar year, as a public holiday.
The Islamic New Year calendar was unveiled by Kogi State Commissioner for Water Resources, Engr Danladi Faruq at Muhammadu Buhari Square in Lokoja.
In his welcome address, the Chairman of KSCU, Sheikh Salman Adam represented by the council Secretary, Alhaji Baba’ango Idris said the Islamic calendar is important to all Muslims because it shows Muslims have strong roots and history.
Adam noted that the annual unveiling of the Islamic calendar by KSCU is a reawakening call to all Muslims to come back to their roots as the majority of the Muslims have lost touch with such a very vital background.
He called on the Muslim community to continue to support the KSCU to continue to carry out its activities.
Adam thanked Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, and Muslims in the state for their support towards the upliftment of the activities of the Council.
The KSCU Chairman called on the Federal and state governments in Nigeria to declare Muharram 1, the first day of the Islamic Calendar year, as a public holiday.
He said such a declaration would be in line with the rule of law, fairness and justice to millions of Muslims in Nigeria as it was granted to the Christian brethren on January 1 of the Gregorian Calendar.
This gesture, he stressed, would give Muslims a sense of belonging in the polity.
In his remarks, the Ohimegye Of Koton-Karfe, HRM, Dr Saidu Akawu Salihu, commended the organizers for the annual Hijrah Commemoration lecture.
The monarch who took time to dissect the history of the Islamic calendar and the meaning of every month, noted that unfortunately, several Muslims have lost touch with the calendar.
He urged the Muslim Ummah to reinvest and cultivate interest in the Islamic way of life to maintain and preserve their roots adding that any community that lost touch with its history and roots has lost its relevance.
He thanked the KSCU for its effort to preserve the Islamic calendar noting that in the past a lot of efforts have been made by the enemies of the religion to kill the Islamic calendar but the resilience of Muslims has kept it alive.
Delivering a lecture with the Theme: Economic Challenges, the Roles of the Muslim Ummah in Alleviating Its Negative Impacts on the Society, an Abuja-based Islamic cleric, Hafz Abudulgafar Jubril, said economic Challenges are undesirable social phenomena whose existence and expansion in society lead to all-around miserable consequences in the short and long term.
According to him, “This ominous phenomenon is condemned in all human religions and cultures, and various ways and methods have been proposed to alleviate its negative impact on society. Islam considers a life with prosperity and peace as the natural right of human beings and confronts the obstacles to the realization of this goal.
Also speaking, a representative of Governor Ahamed Usman Ododo, Engr Danladi Faruq thanked the KSCU for organizing such an important event every year adding that it has over the years kept alive the important culture in the hearts of Muslims.
He noted that since every Islamic activity is tied to time, Muslims should strive to incorporate the Islamic Valentino in their day-to-day activities.
Dignitaries at the event include; the Ohimegye Of Koton-Karfe, HRM Dr Saidu Akawu Salihu, the Maigari of Lokoja, HRH Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Maikafi 1V, other traditional rulers, the Grand Khadi of Kogi State, Justice Abdulkarim Aruwa, the Chairman Lokoja LGA, Comrade Abdullahi Adamu, Commissioner for water resources, Engr. Yahaya Danladi Faruq and the commissioner for Justice, Hon. Barr. Muiz Yunusa Abdullahi SAN, Islamic associations, and Islamic scholars.
Highlights of the event were a recitation of the Holy Quran, guest lecture del.
