A’uzubillahi minasshaidanir rajim
Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.
All praise and adoration are due to Allah(SWT) who in his wisdom and mercy spared our lives to witness yet another Eidul fitr after the expiration of the 30 day- long fasting and devotion to the Great Creator. May peace and blessings of Allah be upon His beloved and our dear leader and benefactor Muhammad, his household and companions as well as those who imbibe them till the last day.
2. Fellow citizens, I am indeed, elated to address you on this great and memorable occasion of the Eidul fitr Sallah Celebration, which marks the end of the obligatory fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan for the year 1443 AH.
3. We must thank Allah that despite the difficult weather and the attendant economic difficulty, coupled with the inflation that affects the prices of goods and services, we are, by God’s grace, able to see through the period. Certainly, our reward will come from Allah, Who does not require our worship for Himself but rather, so that it will benefit us here and in the hereafter.
4. May I urge us to extend the discipline we exhibited in the past few days by making sacrifices and depriving ourselves of many lawful things in pursuit of greater advantages. These should be our signposts in our dealings with our fellow country men and women.
5. This is in furtherance of the great lesson that has been enshrined in fasting which include, self discipline, selflessness and sacrifice in the service of Allah and humanity. In the light of this, concerted efforts must be made by all to keep the lesson of Ramadan fast alive, use it to make up with our fellow brothers and sisters and to bring about the necessary cohesion in our society.
6. Fellow citizens, as our nation is on daily basis being inundated with sufferings, killings and economic instability, we must remain level headed and never politicize the security situation amidst us. We must, singularly and collectively continue to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies in our quest to bring this obnoxious challenge to a grinding halt.
7. We have not, on our part, relented in our efforts to tackle insecirity, through sustained support to security agencies and collaboration with the Federal Government and authorities in Niger Republic. Alarming incidents still occur in our communities but our collaboration is yeilding positive results that lead to the capture and containment of bandits and kidnappers in our state.
8. A positive and relieving development is the downturn of the Covid -19 Pandemic in most parts of the country. By the will of Allah (SWT), we in Sokoto State, have recorded very low prevalence of the disease in the past year. I however, appeal to all of us to continue to observe all the protocols as enunciated by world, national and state authorities for us to continue to curtail the spread of the disease.
9..The substantial relaxation of Covid -19 containment measures across the globe has restored our freedom to pursue our socioeconomic activities within and beyond our shores.Also critical is the easing of regulations that now enable our faithful to perform religious obligations outside our country.
10. I wish to appeal that we exploit the opportunity to pray for the return of peace to Nigeria and for peaceful, free and fair elections that will usher in everlasting unity, stability and prosperity for our nation. We should not lose sight of the fact that we have all sweated and some have made supreme sacrifice to ensure that we put in place an enduring democratic culture. As a result, we must not allow our efforts to go in vein.
11. Let me at this juncture thank you all for your tireless support and cooperation to this administration over the period of about seven challenging, yet fruitful years, during which a great leap forward was attained in the tangible delivery of healthcare, education, agriculture, infrastructure, rural development and the thrust towards advancing girl-child education now and in the not too distant future.
12. Examples of these feats are: the advanced diagnostic center already operating, the 1,200 bed capacity Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital nearing completion, the Girl Science Academy, also on the verge of completion, which will inculcate the deep pursuit of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in the girl-child and the ultra-modern multi-purpose sports facility, also on course within the new Sokoto City.
13. On the intangible side, our administration is bequeathing a regime of fiscal responsibility on the state thus bringing us not only national but also global recognition. We have also made tremendous progress in returning out of school children to the classroom and addressing the Almajiri phenomenon. Our administration is on track in ensuring that national cohesion and inclusiveness are its watchword. Consequently, our citizens are Nigerians and not exclusively Sokoto citizens.
14. In this regard, all Nigerians living in our blessed state enjoy equal status and privileges in education, healthcare, housing and all issues of development and wellbeing. Although not within our purview constitutionally, we have sustained the culture of supporting our security services, who to their credit have been working harmoniously with each other, with all forms of assistance they require to perform their duties of securing lives and property in the state.
15. As we continue to place premium on the uncommon service of all and sundry, special appreciation goes to His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto and President General Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, all royal fathers and Ulama for their support, encouragement and fatherly guidance in steering the affairs of our dear state.
16. May Allah in His infinite mercies, bring back peace and tranquility in our fatherland and elongate our lives to witness more Ramadan fasting in the years to come.
Thank you and wa’alaikumussalam warahmatullahi.
Barka da Sallah!
