THINGS GETTING OUT OF HAND IN NIGERIA, BY AISHA BUHARI

• Berates governors over infrastructure, amenities • Religious, tribal tensions brewing – Osinbajo

The First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, has alerted that things are getting out of hand in the country, noting that her husband alone cannot handle the challenges of the nation and admonished the political class to work together to bail the country of out of the challenges.

She also berated state governors for failing to provide basic social amenities and infrastructure.

She spoke yesterday at the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) General Assembly and National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the National Mosque Abuja, with the theme; "Islam and National Development".

Mrs. Buhari said; “We should either fasten our seatbelts and do the needful or we will all regret it very soon because, at the rate things are going, things are getting completely out of hand. The VP (Yemi Osinbajo) is here, some ministers are here, they are supposed to do justice to the situation.

“People cannot afford potable water in this country while we have governors. Since this is the highest decision-making body of Islamic affairs, for those that are listening we should fear God, and we should know that one day, we will return to God and account for our deeds here on earth,” she said.

She also called for the regulation of social media, noting that China with about 1.3bn people had done so, stressing that many people could not visit their villages on account of fake news broadcasts.

She said; “On this issue of social media, you cannot just sit in the comfort of your house and tweet that the vice president has resigned, it is a serious issue. If China can control over 1.3bn people on social media, I see no reason why Nigeria cannot attempt controlling only 180m people.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while formally declaring the conference open, admonished Nigerians to be their brother’s keepers regardless of their religious affiliations as all Nigerians are equal.

He stated; “It is my view that the weight of ensuring that this country is on the right track is on our leaders. We should be our brother's keepers no matter the religion. We should always be ready to make sacrifices for one another. We have religious and tribal tensions in this country. Many are beating the drums of ethnic and religious war, we are at a historic juncture of our nation.”

On his opening remarks, the NSCIA President-General and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, said the nation must come together to address its challenges, insisting that girl-child education and the Almajiri phenomenon must be addressed urgently.

He also disagreed with the calls for social media regulation, stating that there were laws to deal with the abuse of the platforms.

“I have received so many calls on the need to regulate social media. In Nigeria, there are so many laws that can deal with this issue.

“Some people even proposed having a hate speech law. We must accept the outcome of whatever the people decided. After all, people voted for our political leaders. Let us listen to the voices of the people. It is important for us to do the wish of Nigerians," the Sultan said.