Chief Missioner, Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN), Lagos State chapter, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladoyin, on Thursday, urged teachers to teach their students religious tolerance.
Oladoyin gave the advice at the 1st Annual Ramadan Lecture organised by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Lagos State Wing, at the NUT Secretariat in Lagos.
The theme of the lecture was: The Islamic Perspective of the Role of Teachers in the Society.
Oladoyin said that if Christian and Muslim faithful come together and work in harmony, there would not be a complex society.
“I want us to see our role as leaders and teachers as the only tool for a better society because education is a way of creating positive change in a child to be useful to himself and the society.
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“Everything has a purpose and if teaching is our job and our profession, we must do it right,” he said.
Oladoyin said the role of teachers was a challenging one and urged them to always seek wisdom from God to do things right.
He advised teachers to inculcate the right attitude in children and not to teach religious intolerance among students in their classrooms.
“The purpose of creation is to serve almighty God, any other thing can come later.
“Service to almighty God is service to humanity, and by serving almighty God, we make the society habitable for all of us.
“If we say we are teachers, and we are performing that function as teachers, then we should also ask ourselves, why is our society like this? Especially, those of us that have spent between 20 and 25 years in service.
“By now, we are supposed to start asking ourselves, what becomes of my products? Are they building the society? What have I contributed and planted in them?
“Everyday activities, the salary we collect, the honour we get, the promotion we achieve, we will give account to God.
“The Holy Book makes us to realise that every action we take, we shall give account to God, “he said.
Oladoyin urged teachers to create positive change in the children, and strive to be perfect in all they do.
Also speaking, Mr. Segun Raheem, National Treasurer of the NUT, said the lecture was apt, as it preached religious tolerance among members.
Raheem said there was need to continue to preach peaceful co-existence among religious groups.
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He described the month of Ramadan was one of forgiveness, giving, sharing and tolerance.
Chairman of NUT, Lagos State Wing, Mr. Adesina Adedoyin, said the lecture was organised to bring teachers together and meditate on the word of God during Ramadan.
Adedoyin said everything was not about social gatherings and politics, but there was need for people to devote more time to God.
“This is the first of its kind in the history of NUT, in Lagos State.
“The idea of this lecture was conceived by our members, and immediately I saw it, I knew that it was more than necessary.
“Everything cannot be social gathering and politics, there must be a time to come together to hear the word of God, most especially, during this month of Ramadan,” he said. (NAN)
