President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday in Abuja advised
Christian, Muslim leaders and preachers generally, in the country to give more
attention to issues that strengthen the family, and build a society, describing
them as “custodians of our values and of social ideals.’’
A statement on Thursday signed by his Special
Adviser, Femi Adesina said that the President spoke at the Joint National
Conference of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Future
Assured Initiative on Repositioning the Muslim Family for National Development.
Buhari said the family provides the bedrock for any society
and deserved more attention in Nigeria.
Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, Emir of Kano, Muhammadu
Sanusi II, First Lady, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari and Sultan of Sokoto,
Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, were among the dignitaries at the event.
“In this endeavour, our religious leaders and organizations
are most important catalysts. They are the custodians of our values and of our
social ideals. It is, therefore, commendable that the Nigerian Supreme Council
in collaboration with the Future Assured Initiative has risen up to this
challenge.
“I, however, wish to call on all our religious leaders and
organizations, both Christian and Muslim, to follow suit by redirecting
important elements of their preaching and teachings on family issues with a view
to broadening the sensitization of people at the grassroots level,’’ he said.
The President said the government would also put more effort
in ensuring economic support, and empowering of family members for more
stability.
“We have been conscious of the havoc poverty is wreaking on
the family. We, therefore, believe that poverty alleviation is central to
safeguarding the integrity of our families.
“Our administration introduced a number of economic
empowerment and poverty alleviation schemes. Some of these directly impact
families while others have an indirect effect on families through their
multiplier effects.
“The first, and most robust programme, is the Social
Investment Programme, which serves as a very broad framework for availing
Nigerian families at the grassroots level different forms of economic
support,’’ President Buhari added.
According to the President, many homes had benefitted from
the Conditional Cash Transfer, while trader-moni and market-moni schemes have
also been impactful.
“The school feeding programme has assisted immensely in
supporting poor Nigerian families in getting their children enrolled and
sustained in school,’’ he said.
On flagging-off of marriage counselling projects across the
country, President Buhari noted that the search for national rebirth, efforts
at fighting corruption, indiscipline and struggle for attitudinal change must
all begin from the family unit.
“While we appreciate the significant role of the mass media
and other public enlightenment channels and outfits in propagating and
promoting positive values, we just have to acknowledge the fact that all these
build, after all, upon the foundations that must have been laid down at home,’’
he said.
The President said most of the challenges affecting the
family fall within the mandates and jurisdictions of the state governments,
urging the governments to rise up to the challenges and do their full parts in
the effort for social regeneration.
President Buhari commended His Eminence, Sultan of Sokoto,
Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar and Future Assured Initiative, under the
leadership of Her Excellency, the First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari,
for the projects on marriage and family.
In her remarks, the First Lady said the project will
identify critical marriage challenges and suggest relevant instruments for
addressing them, which include sensitizing relevant stakeholders on their
responsibilities.
“We have succeeded in assembling an array of Islamic
scholars to further deliberate on these matters, with the belief that they will
do justice to the issues,’’ she added.
The Senate President, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, said the
Universal Basic Education should be fully implemented to compel parents to send
their children to school, assuring that the National Assembly will work with
the Executive to ensure compliance.
In his keynote address, His Highness, Emir of Kano,
Muhammadu Sanusi II, admonished men to take full responsibility for their
marriages, especially in economic terms, by marrying only when they can take
care of a wife, and having children they can cater for.
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