The Ulama Wing of Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO) has warned secessionists to desist from any divisive activity, saying such calls were inimical to the progress of the country.
They equally urged governments at various levels to ensure equality in the distribution of the wealth of the nation.
The scholars made the remark during a seminar held at the Masjidul Sunnah Central Mosque, Lagos, Wednesday.
They said the spate of insecurity in the country and call for secession were threatening the collective existence of the country.
The seminar, according to them was aimed at preaching and educating their followers with a view to correcting the anomaly of insecurity in the country by identifying the root causes, proffering solutions that would ensure a peaceful society.
According to them, loss of value system and the dearth of sense of commonality within the societal units of the regions were the bane of the country.
They also blamed insecurity in the country to politicians’ flagrant display of wealth.
Head of the group, Sheikh AbdurRahman Ahmad said that the scholars would continue to express concern about the worsening insecurity situation in the country.
He said: “We know there will be no quick fix to the security challenges. We met Mr President last month and expressed our concern about the worsening insecurity situation, and he told us what the administration is doing and what they hope to do differently.
“As Islamic scholars, we are major stakeholders and issues of security are fundamental to the practice of our religion. Without security, we cannot observe our religious duties.
We know that the insecurity issue is complex because there is an interplay of factors ranging from negligence at home to proper upbringing of children, to lack of distributive justice and to lack of rule of law among others.
“While we do our own part, we will continue to engage with the authority to ensure that the security situation is addressed and we have relative security.”
Sheikh Ahmad said the country needs true nationalists to lead the country
“We need at this time a true nationalist, a just leader, someone with perceptive insight that would look into this issue and address it and win the trust and confidence of those who feel they are not getting a fear deal,” he said.
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