By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Kaduna famous Islamic Scholar and former Special Adviser to Governor Ibrahim Yakowa on Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Haliru Maraya, has said that the present dwindling economic situation of Nigeria requires a combination of prayer and action.

According to him,”the aforementioned combination is also imperative for the other problems of insecurity, a very weak and rickety currency, unemployment, poverty, among others, bedevilling the nation , to be surmounted.”

Speaking exclusively to our correspondent, Sheikh Maraya explained that “the government, at all levels, needs to strive and pray to address the numerous but not insurmountable challenges facing our beloved country. Prayer, without a vigorous action, to defeat any challenge facing any nation, is tantamount to noise.”

“Hence , what we need as a nation, to overcome our problems, is not only prayer but a miscellany of action and prayer . The Almighty Allah says in Quran Chapter 29 , Verse 69 : “ And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.”

“We can deduce from the aforementioned Quranic verse that we need to strive and pray for our social aspirations to be fulfilled . Undoubtedly , for a government to organize a prayer session , in the absence of cogent action, in order to address any problem, be it economic or otherwise , is a futile exercise.”

“To overcome our challenges , both the government and the governed must also embrace the spirit of piety in their general activities and sayings .May the Almighty Allah deliver our beloved country, Nigeria.from her general problems,” he said

In a related development ,former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF),Anthony Sani,said “there is nothing wrong with prayers that tend to spiritual needs of human beings.”

“But prayers without work is naught.This is because God has given human beings intellect and all that it takes to enable man fend for himself.That may explain Lee Kua Yew,the founder of Singapore,who once wrote that order,justice,liberty, common decency and prosperity for all, are attained through CEASELESS HARD WORK by not only the leaders but also by the led.”

“If prayers without work were all that are required in successful mechanism of community living,Nigeria and Afghanistan would have been the most developed countries in the world,since they are the two countries which pray the most.It is work and worship,not prayers alone,”the elder statesman said.