Hijrah: Osun Govt Declares Monday Public Holiday

The state governor, Gboyega Oyetola announced the holiday in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Tajudeen Lawal, on Friday in Osogbo.

The governor enjoined both Muslims and adherents of other religions to use the holiday to pray for the growth and development of the state and Nigeria as a whole.

TrackNews Online reports that Hijrah is the first day in the Islamic New Year calendar and it is celebrated by Muslims all over the world.

Meanwhile, former military president, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida has explained that he got the nicknames ‘evil genius’ and ‘Maradona’ from the Nigerian media.

He disclosed that his smooth political moves and ability to anticipate what people will do earned him the names.

The former president of Nigeria gave the explanations on Friday during an interview with Arise TV.

Babangida said: “That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people, you have to anticipate them.

“If you anticipate them then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction — you can’t be evil and then a genius”

“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it.”