President Bola Tinubu on Saturday, October 4, appealed to Nigerians to embrace religious tolerance. According to him, religion should be a unifying factor and not one used to cause division.
The President said this at the funeral service of Lydia Yilwatda, mother of Nentawe Yilwatda, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He shared a personal reflection on religious coexistence within his own family, explaining that while he practises Islam, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, is a pastor and that their religion never gets in the way of them living happily as a married couple.
“Hate is not an option for u. Love is what we should preach, that we should love one another. Nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained actions and prophesies what matters.
I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me. No conflict. And I never did, at any single time, try to convince her or convert her. I believe in the freedom of religion. We are praying to the same God. We are answerable to the same Almighty God. We will answer to Him, our deeds, our character, and our love for our fellow beings are what truly matter, not the method or faith of our being.”he said
He offered prayers for the repose of the soul of the late Lydia Yilwatda, who died in August at the age of 83, describing her as a woman of deep faith and service.
