In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
2. All praises are due to Almighty Allah, Who spared our lives to witness this significant Islamic festival of Eidul-kabir for the year 1441 after Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
3. Indeed, Eidul-kabir is a great and special festive period in the lives of Muslims across the globe which has in it a lot of social, spiritual and moral connotations. It is a period of reawakening and strengthening the much-needed brotherhood among fellow Muslims and the entire humankind, irrespective of social, political or economic divides. It is indeed a message of love and compassion to all believers.
4. The ultimate lesson of this celebration by the faithful is sacrifice. This is evident in the way prophet Abraham totally submitted to the will Allah. Both Abraham and His son Ishmael duly replicated absolute obedience to Allah. This great lesson is therefore expected to be upheld by all Muslims, especially the spirit of sacrifice and love to fellow Muslims and other persons of faith.
5. This year’s Edul-Kabir is coming at a time when the world is still grappling with the threat of the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic. As humanity is struggling with the virus, Allah in His infinite mercy has made it easy for our State to contain the situation. We must thank Almighty Allah for His mercy and blessing on us and pray that He will continue to be our benefactor always.
6. Similarly, this period is closely associated with Hajj, which is a journey of faith by Muslims and also one of the pillars of Islam. As Allah wills, the 2020 hajj has also been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as it was downsized to a very minimal level of an internal affair of the residents of Saudi Arabia alone. For many years, the Muslim world has not experienced this unprecedented situation. However, as painful as it is, we shall take solace in the fact that Allah, the all-knowing, is fully aware of our situation and He will reward us for our patience and good intentions.
7. We must also thank Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala for His blessing on us, especially as we are daily recording successes in our fight against banditry. Based on our security strategy, our peace and reconciliation programme goes hand in hand with action by our gallant security forces against the recalcitrant elements. Alhamdulilah, many communities will be celebrating this festive period in their towns and villages after long periods of displacement. Many of our markets are now fully operational as farmers and herders are interacting freely and in a genuine spirit of friendship and brotherliness. The legendary cordiality between farmers and herders is fast returning.
8. My dear people of Zamfara State, these achievements could not have been possible without your prayers and support to our administration. We believe that the transformation of our State is only possible when the security situation is favourable.
9. As this period is meant for spiritual rejuvenation and show of love to the humanity, we have extended the usual government’s gesture to public servants, political groups and communities to enable them celebrate Sallah with ease and merriment. For this period, 993 cows and 5,663 rams were distributed to various categories of people, including the less privileged, the returned abductees as well as orphans, and Islamic scholars.
10. At this point, I would like to register my appreciation for the prayers and goodwill that my adminisatrtion is enjoying from the good people of Zamfara State both at home and in the diaspora. We are indeed grateful for your support and fervent prayers. I urge you to continue to pray for the peace and progress of our dear State.
11. Let me equally use this medium to reiterate my renewed determination and commitment to the promotion of the wellbeing of our people through the provision of gainful opportunities that will benefit our people. Our administration will continue to come up with policies and programmes tailored to bring succour to our people, most especially the less privileged.
12. I wish you a happy and memorable sallah celebration. May the good lessons of sacrifice embodied in this festive period strengthen peace and promote the much needed social and economic prosperity for our State and the nation in general. May Almighty Allah bless us with abundant rainfall and bumper harvest.
13. While we celebrate, let me remind our people to adhere to all covid-19 protocols such as the use of face mask, frequent washing of hands, social distancing and all other precautionary measures to guard against the disease.
14. Thank you nd wassalamu alaikum.
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