Zulum-“Protect Our Sacred Bond,” Celebrates Peaceful Year in Christmas Message

By: Our Reporter

With profound gratitude to God for sparing our lives one full year to another Christmas celebration, Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum felicitate with the Christian community across the state on the occasion of Christmas.

The Governor is currently engaged in a four-day security and resilience building tour across Northern Borno. The tour includes visits to military formations to boost their morale, and to communities affected by the insurgency, where he is working to build their confidence and provide tangible democratic benefits.

In a message by his Spokesperson Dauda Iliya, Governor Zulum expressed gratitude to God Almighty for the return of relative peace in the state.

“For us in Borno State, the period between the 2024 to the 2025 Christmas celebrations has been one full year of celebrating enviable all-encompassing reconstruction and recovery,” Zulum stated.

“The progress is not only in terms of physical infrastructure, but also in terms of the peace and forbearance, mutual goodwill and harmonious coexistence among the Muslim and Christian communities, which our beleaguered state very critically desires to launch itself back to prosperity and glorious past,” he added.

“I feel obliged to express my most heartfelt gratitude to God for enabling me to preside over the state one full year, witnessing a gladdening restoration and maintenance of these required peace, mutual goodwill and harmony between the the Muslim and Christian communities which bonded us tightly together as a solid people, but which the over a decade Boko Haram insurgency threatened to completely destroy.

“A noteworthy part of the Muslim-Christian harmonious coexistence and goodwill reconstruction and maintenance was my recent high-level consultation meeting with the leadership of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), focused on strengthening collaborative efforts between the state government and religious bodies to combat the lingering threat of insecurity and foster lasting peace in Borno State.

“At that meeting, I underscored the critical role of religious leaders in promoting tolerance, unity and peace across the state because Borno, like many states, has unique and beautiful family composition dynamics.

“It is common to find under one roof, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, who profess different faiths. We share meals, we celebrate festivities and milestones, we grieve losses together, as one family, bound by blood and love that transcends religious labels. This is our reality.

“I stressed that our enviable strength emanates from this reality. I will still, therefore, stress that we must protect this sacred bond within our homes and allow it to define our individual, as well as intra- and cross-community engagements.

“In sustenance of my tradition of just, fair and equitable treatment of both communities in festive seasons, I have, also, this year, I announced support to the Christian community and non indigenes, which includes free transportation to non-indigenes to different parts of the country, humanitarian support to over 6,000 vulnerable Christians, cash gifts to widows and orphans, sponsorship of Christian pilgrimage and other interventions.

I am always disposed to rendering such support, and even more, whenever the need arises.

Governor Babagana Zulum urge every citizen of the state, irrespective of faith, to come together in the collective search for lasting security, peaceful and harmonious coexistence as the most-critical foundation for true reconstruction, recovery and prosperity.

Zulum-“Protect Our Sacred Bond,” Celebrates Peaceful Year in Christmas Message