BY ALIJO SYLVESTER, ABUJA – Co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Group, Aisha Yusuf, has condemned the declaration of a public holiday for the this year’s celebration of Eid-el-Maulud.
Aisha noted that the declaration of the holiday is wasteful and an act of competitive religiosity and asked when Nigeria started celebrating Maulud?
The Bring Back Our Girls convener, therefore, pleaded with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to, as a matter of necessity, focus more on helping Nigerians overcome the present sufferings and poverty than play religiosity.
Aisha tweeted; “Nigeria and our need for wasteful holidays. Which one is public holiday for Maulud? When did we start celebrating Maulud?
“When do we stop all this ‘competitive religiosity‘ and focus on doing good for humanity?”
Checks by Forefront indicate that the first Maulud to be declared a public holiday in Nigeria was in March 2009 by Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd), when he served as the Minister of Interior under Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration.
Since 2009, Nigeria remains one of the few countries observing Eid-El-Maulud.
