•Ishaq Oloyede
Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has lampooned state governors for seeking the federal government’s intervention to tackle security challenges.
The Arabic professor, who is also the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, stated that President Bola Tinubu alone cannot handle every situation in the country, hence, the need for all the 36 governors to look inward and fashion out local means of neutralising criminal elements and end banditry in their various jurisdictions.
Oloyede said this while delivering a Ramadan lecture titled: ‘Duties of Muslim Citizens in National Development’, in Ikole-Ekiti, reports Vanguard.
The JAMB boss, who was represented by the Provost of the Federal College of Education in Iwo, Professor Abdulrafiu Adebayo, said the sub-national leaders have roles to play in addressing various challenges confronting the nation, rather than playing the blame game.
His words: “Let’s not be unjust to ourselves. Stop calling on Tinubu to curb insecurity in your states, he can’t do it alone.”
Speaking on the havoc that religion has caused Nigeria, Oloyede said: “We are too religious and we are not that godly. We are in love with prayer but we don’t know the difference between prayer and hard work.
“It is until we unite and bury ethnic bitterness, that’s when we will get it right. Religion would have solved our problems properly but we did not utilise it very well.”
Addressing journalists, shortly after the lecture, the lawmaker representing Ekiti North 1 (Ikole/Oye) Federal Constituency, Mr Akin Rotimi, urged political actors across the country to honour and celebrate patriotic citizens before they die.
Rotimi said: “This is part of our efforts to ensure that we redefine representation and make sure that we leave our mark.”
On his part, former Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi hailed the honouree for his giant strides in religion and politics, adding that no kind gesture is in-proportional to celebrate such a dependable leader.
Fayemi said: “It should not be a surprise that Akin is working to our satisfaction and his effort at uplifting his constituency is beginning to show.
“Ogunlayi is an example to us in politics and character. That’s why there’s nothing too much to do for him because he has sacrificed for most of us.”
Responding, Aare Ogunlayi commended Akin Rotimi for building peaceful co-existence between both religions, adding that such action will end the spate of terrorism if emulated.
