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By Abiola Rufai
ILARO-YEWA – The Chief Imam of Ilaro Central Mosque who is also the Secretary to the League of Imams and Alfas in Ogun State, Imam Tajudeen Mustapha-Adewunmi, has commended the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for reopening mosques and churches across the state after five months of closure as part of measures put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Imam Adewunmi gave the commendation on Friday, August 14, 2020, during the Jumat service held at Ilaro Central Mosque Eid praying ground at Oke-Ela areaof Ilaro-Yewa, headquarters of Ogun West.
The Islamic scholar who pointed out that COVID’19 was real, advised the congregation to maintain neatness always and adhere strictly to rules and guidelines put in place by the government to stop the spread of the virus.
His words, “I want to thank the state Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for his efforts at protecting the people of Ogun State against COVID’19. I thank the government for warning us. The government is warning us that we should not go against the laws guiding the spread of coronavirus, so that we will survive the test of time. So, as at now that we are going through this test of time, we should all follow those laws and regulations strictly, not for anybody, but for ourselves.
“The mosque is opening now, we should be careful. We should not take laws into our hands. We should follow what the government says, so that there will be no casualties at the end of the day. So, it is good that we are reopening today and we have to follow all the rules and regulations of the government which will benefit everyone of us”.
In his sermon titled, “COVID’19 is a Big Lesson”, Imam Adewunmi implored elderly people to be getting ready for ‘Halkiyamoh’, stating that COVID’19 was not looking for the youths, but the old people, because they are the major victims that could not survive the attack of the virus.
He urged every person that is above the age of 63 to be getting ready for the last day.
“Every old people including myself should be getting ready for Halkiyamoh, because COVID’19 is not looking for the youths, it is looking for the elderly people, because it’s the old people that cannot survive its attack. So, if it is so, it mean if you are above 63, you should be getting ready to go back to your creator to account for what you have done on earth. So, every person that is above 63 years of age should be getting ready for Halkiyamoh”, Adewunmi posited.
As mosques and churches reopens, the Chief Imam advised religious leaders to try as much as possible to follow what the government says and be prayerful, adding that religious leaders should always be good example to their followers.
The Islamic Cleric appealed to the state government to allow Muslim female students in the state’s public primary and secondary schools to put on hijab like their colleagues in Oyo State, Ondo, Osun and some other states, pointing out that wearing of hijab in schools would not distract nor disturb their studies in class.
However, Imam Adewunmi prayed for Nigeria and states of the federation.
It should be noted that every rule and guideline put in place by the government were observed as people without facemask were not allowed into the praying ground by security men put at every entrance of the praying venue.
