Monday, October 10, 2022, has been declared a public holiday by the Federal Government of Nigeria. It commemorates this year’s Eid-el-Maulud, the celebration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on Thursday, congratulated all Muslims at home and in the Diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion.
In a statement signed by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Shuaib Belgore, Aregbesola admonished all “Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues and which the Holy Prophet Muhammad exemplified, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country”.
Aregbesola enjoins Nigerians, particularly Muslims, to refrain from violence, lawlessness and other acts of criminality. “As the indisputable leader of our race, we must demonstrate responsible leadership in Africa”, the Minister encouraged.
While calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, Aregbesola urged all “Nigerians, and the youth in particular, to embrace the virtues of hard work and peaceful disposition to fellow humans, irrespective of faith, ideology, social class and ethnicity and join hands with the President Muhammadu Buhari led-Administration in its effort to build a progressive and enviable nation that all citizens would be proud of”.
The Minister urged Nigerians to be security conscious, asking them to report any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest security agency and through the N-Alert application on Android and IOS, saying “when you see something do N-Alert, as this would elicit a prompt response from security agents”.
The last public holiday was on Monday 3rd October to mark Nigeria’s 62nd independent anniversary, which fell due two days earlier – a Saturday.
