Yesterday, Sunday, March 30, 2025, was Eid el-Fitr in Nigeria. This followed the announcement by the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, after receiving reports from Muslim leaders, including the Shehu of Borno, that the crescent of the Islamic lunar month of Shawwal was sighted on Saturday in different parts of the country.

In a radio and television broadcast, the Sultan urged Muslims to use the occasion of the Eid el-Fitr to renew their commitment to the teachings of Islam; urging them to imbibe the virtues of forgiveness and religious tolerance. He also asked them to pray for all leaders at the three tiers of the governance structure in Nigeria. The federal government had since last week declared today, Monday, March 31, 2025 and tomorrow, Tuesday, as public holidays to commemorate the occasion.

The import of the month-long religious obligation of self-denial and forbearance has great significance for the individual and the society at large, hoping that having undertaken the duties we have imbibed, we shall always live according to hallowed tenets of the religion. This exhortation is important to remind everyone that, as individuals, it is our duty to display the needed capacity to do good by elevating decent values in our lives. That way, the practical benefit of the act of self-denial would have been achieved.

It follows therefore that the way to societal regeneration is through individual commitment to the holy injunctions of the Ramadan, not only during the sacred month but also after its termination because through sincere piety, we should have been transformed into beings able to distinguish between good and evil which in turn enables us to undertake right and proper actions.

Furthermore, the end of Ramadan should not be seen, especially by Muslims, as an end to all the virtues including charity, good neighbourliness and tolerance; all of which characterised their devotions in the past one month. The salient lesson of fellow feeling that Ramadan teaches should equally not be lost on us. The injunction to share even the little that was available to us is an entreaty to eschew selfishness, greed and covetousness. It is the same concept of altruism that Zakat ul-fitr, which symbolises the end of Ramadan seeks to promote. The absence of these virtues in our public and private lives has continued to harm the development of the country.

It is evident that the only fixation of poor leadership is to pillage the nation’s resources to the detriment of the toiling masses. As a consequence of amoral leadership, Nigerians became direct victims of abject poverty and pervasive insecurity of lives and property. For the kind of equitable society Nigerians are yearning for to come about, those entrusted with power will have to exercise it for the common good of the people over whom they lead, which in specific terms means the provision of basic amenities and infrastructure that will improve their living conditions. While we call on leaders to remain sensitive to the feelings of their followers, we encourage Nigerian Muslims on the occasion of this year’s Eid el-Fitr to pray to Allah to guide their leaders aright, grant them the willpower, wisdom and capacity needed to bring about good governance.

Through the holy injunctions of Ramadan, which should have impacted positively on the spiritual state of our minds, Muslims at the end of Ramadan should be able to undertake right and proper actions. We, therefore, advise them against going back to their old eating habits of unnecessary exuberance while dining, which undeniably is against prophetic eating traditions.

Our inability to wear new clothes on the occasion of this year’s small Sallah should not be a source of disappointment. Let us resist every attempt by the devil to ruin the joyful mood of Eid el-Fitr. Having been able to observe the Ramadan fast and to be alive to also celebrate the Sallah is enough mercy and favour from Allah that should make us wear smiles on our faces. No matter how bad the difficult times in the country make us feel, we still have reasons to be grateful to Allah.

Further in the spirit of this Sallah, we appeal to Muslims to uphold the virtue of peaceful co-existence as instructed by Prophet Muhammad who, as a practical leading example, lived peacefully in Madina with Christians, Jews and pagans. This is based on Qur’an 2:256 in which Allah revealed to the Prophet that, “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear for Error…”. In the light of this verse of the Qur’an, therefore, improper and untoward actions that could result in to communal and religious conflicts should be avoided.

Daily Trust calls on Muslims to celebrate the Eid el-Fitr with moderation and restraint as a practical expression of the lessons and message of Ramadan.

We wish all Nigerians Barka da Sallah and a peaceful celebration.