By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan
President League of Imam in South West, and the Chief Imam of Ibadan land, Sheikh Busari Suara Haruna on Monday urged religious leaders in Nigeria to teach their followers the essence of religious tolerance at all times.
He gave the charge while speaking at the Nikkak ceremony between Zainab Omotayo and Tijani Kehinde Olagoke, the son of founder of Shafaudeen in Islam, Prof. Sabit Olagoke, in Ibadan.
He said there was the need for religious tolerance among Nigerians for the sustenance of peace in the country, stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure that Nigerians learned how to tolerate one another, “especially in the area of religion.”
Speaking further, he emphasised the need for the sustenance of Nigerian culture and tradition, particularly on the institution of marriage and payment of bride price.
The Chief Imam pointed out that he was impressed to see the father of the groom paying the bride price in tandem with “our tradition and Islamic injunction,” and urged the intellectuals present at the ceremony to emulate the gesture.
He also urged youths in the country venturing into marriage to prepare for future challenges as life was not a bed of roses, counselling that it was a life contract.
Emphasising the need for the couples to love one another genuinely, he pointed out that marriage was the laid down rule of God which must be unquestionably obeyed.
In his remarks, Olagoke urged religious leaders in churches and mosques across the country to teach the youth ways to lead virtuous lives and build happy homes for themselves.
Grand Amirah of the Mission, Alhaja S. F. Olagoke, in her remarks, declared that “there is peace in relating with others only when you recognise and respect the strengths and weaknesses which we all have.”
