Umar Pate, vice-chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere in Gombe, has urged Muslim faithful to take advantage of new media to propagate Islamic values worldwide.
Mr Pate made the call on Sunday at the inauguration of the newly elected executives of the Adamawa Muslim Council in Yola.
He said that with the Internet, people can connect with anyone in the world within a second, thanks to the progress enabled by technology.
According to him, in the next five years, 92 million jobs will vanish due to AI, robots, and other advanced technologies, while currently 120 million new jobs have been created.
He added, “The new media can take a person to paradise if used positively, and it can also lead someone to hellfire when used negatively.”
Mr Pate advised people to be careful in handling new media to shun hate speech, fake news, and misinformation and malinformation.
“It’s good to have knowledge of handling new media for effective utilisation to promote Da’awa, coordination, announcements, and skills development, among others,” he said.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa tasked the new executives with ensuring justice and fairness in their leadership for greater success.
Fintiri called on clerics to propagate Islam without bias and advised them to control their utterances while preaching to their followers.
He further commended the council for its positive contributions to promoting peaceful coexistence in the state.
Barkindo Mustapha, Lamido of Adamawa, congratulated the new executives and urged them to redouble their efforts to ensure unity among Muslims for greater success in propagating Islam.
In his acceptance speech, the chairman of the council, Gambo Jika, thanked the Muslim groups for the confidence reposed in them to lead it for the second time.
He assured that they would continue doing their best to ensure unity and progress in the discharge of their responsibilities.
(NAN)
