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Etsu Nupe and the Chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, on Thursday led Muslim worshippers in praying to God to end the drought in the state.
Abubakar, along with other traditional and religious leaders and farmers, were at the Eid prayer ground in Bida Emirate in Bida Esso to pray to God to bring abundant rains to the emirate, Niger and the country as a whole.
The state is praying for rain after three weeks of drought, during which farmers in the state have begun lamenting that their crops are drying up, which they say could lead to a poor harvest in 2024.
Farmers in Bida Chiefdom and residents of other local governments in the state have especially prayed for divine intervention to avert impending drought in the state due to lack of steady rainfall.
Speaking shortly after the prayer session, Esu Nupe said the move was to seek forgiveness and mercy from Almighty Allah. According to him, Islam teaches Muslims to repent and seek mercy from Allah when any disaster strikes the society.
Therefore, he urged Muslims to forgive each other, refrain from all actions prohibited by Islam, abandon immoral behavior, sincerely repent, and return to Allah.
“Whenever there is a potential threat of drought, Allah (SWT) warns us through His Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that we should return to Him and seek His guidance and forgiveness.
“We ask for God’s mercy and guidance and hope that our prayers will be answered by God and that he will not only bring us rain but also bless us with our crops and other things we need for survival,” he said.
The Chief Imam of Bidda Emirate, Sheikh Adamu Liman Yakatun, delivered a sermon at the prayer ground, listing some of the reasons for drought and other disasters that befell the community.
“These include non-fulfillment of promises by the public, shoddy dealings by some marketers and service personnel, etc.,” he said.
“Even these unnecessary killings of innocent citizens, including our bad guys, may have contributed to the lack of rainfall,” Sheikh said.
Liman-Yakatun noted that crops were in dire need of water to grow due to high prices of food in the market and security challenges facing the state.
He admonished residents of the state to fear God in their daily activities and urged the leaders to be sincere to the people and provide them with the required humanitarian assistance.
The Chief Imam prayed for adequate rains to give farmers a good harvest and asked Allah to put an end to the hardships faced by Nigerians across the country.
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