TheCable

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has urged the federal government to address the country’s economic challenges and security situation. 

In a statement on Thursday, Khalid Aliyu, JNI secretary-general, said the association was compelled to raise its voice in light of the impact of inflation on the availability and affordability of essential goods and services.

“The JNI under the leadership of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, with all sense of responsibility calls on Federal Government to urgently intervene over the difficulties Nigerians are passing through,” the statement reads.

“The current trying time ordinary Nigerians are experiencing, occasioned by food insecurity, inflation, abject poverty and insecurity is distressing and calls for serious redress.

“We have been inundated with reports and pleas from ordinary Nigerians, expressing their anguish over the soaring prices of basic necessities.

“We urgently call on the federal and state governments to intervene before the situation worsens.”

On Monday, some residents of Minna, Niger state capital, blocked major roads in the metropolis to protest the rising cost of living in the country.

Twenty five persons were arrested over the protest.

A similar protest was staged in Kano hours later.

Aliyi urged the Niger government to release those who were arrested during the protests.

“Likewise, all those arrested during the protests should be released and future recurrence be avoided through synergy and prompt interventions,” Aliyu said.

“This call has become necessary such that citizens would not be further provoked.

“More so, the impending Ramadan fast heightens the urgency of our call, as access to three square meals becomes a luxury for many households.

“As believers, we understand that food security is synonymous with home security, as enunciated in the Glorious Qur’an.”

Aliyu also implored the business community to resist the temptation of hoarding goods for selfish gains.

“Instead, they should make essential commodities more affordable, by lowering prices, so as to serve as an act of charity for them,” he said.

“As we approach Ramadan, we urge all levels of government to extend assistance to the less fortunate, as reports of their plight are both alarming and worrying.

“All stakeholders must unite in patriotic fervor to implement measures that mitigate the impact of rising food costs, ensuring Nigeria’s continued path of growth and development is not halted.

“In this time of challenge, we pray for guidance, protection, good health, and peace for all leaders, and for tranquility to prevail in Nigeria.

“May Allah, the Most High, also provide the quickest relief to all problems bedeviling the Nigerian state.”