Front row: President Bola Tinubu, middle; Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, first left; and APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, right, during the funeral service at COCIN Church headquarters in Jos on Saturday.
By Mark Longyen
President Bola Tinubu has appealed to Nigerians to borrow a leaf from him by embracing religious tolerance, saying that while he is a Muslim, his wife is a Christian and Pastor.
The President gave the counsel at the funeral service of the late Mrs Lydia Yilwatda, the mother of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
While sharing a personal reflection on religious coexistence within his own family, Tinubu said that while he practises Islam, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, is a Christian pastor.
He explained that their differences in religion never gets in the way of them living happily as a married couple.
According to him, religion should be a unifying factor and not one used to cause division.
“I’m a Muslim, my wife is a pastor.
“Hate is not an option for you. Love is what we should preach, that we should love one another.
“Nobody determines what God has ordained. God’s ordained actions and prophesies are what matter.
“I inherited Islam from my family. I didn’t change. But my wife is a pastor. She prays for me. No conflict.
“Never did I 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.
The President offered prayers for the repose of the soul of the deceased woman.
He described her as a woman of deep faith and service to God.
The late Lydia Yilwatda had died in August at the age of 83.
