Nigeria will Not Disintegrate, Says Sultan

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III yesterday said Nigeria would not disintegrate, despite agitations from different quarters.

Abubakar, who spoke at the Second Quarterly Meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja, said he would always advocate for dialogue as a way to achieve peace no matter the situation.

“People have been talking about war; there will not be war in Nigeria; who is going to fight who? In families we have Christians and Muslims, you have ethnic nationalities in your country; you have inter-married.

“So, all this noise people are making is trying to draw attention to what they can get out of this country, and if you look at them, they are in the minority.

“In this country, there are excellent people that mean well for common man and humanity, and that is what God created us to do.”

The Sultan who is also the Co-chairman of NIREC said he is a believer of dialogue which his religion taught him.

The religious leader who expressed sadness over the security situation in the country said: “So, let’s continue to work together, let’s continue to sit together, let’s continue to dialogue, am a total believer in dialogue and nothing will change my mind because my religion teaches me to always dialogue and I believe no problem is too big enough not to be resolved when we sit down and talk because even wars are fought to bring peace but if you know you can bring peace without fighting a war, then why do you have to take up arms.

“Peace is the most important aspect of our lives because without peace we can’t even worship. It is a very trying time for our country Nigeria for so many reasons, most notably insecurity which does not allow anybody to do what he or she wants and at the time and place he or she wants.

“That’s why we are very worried about the way things are in our Great country at this time because things are really very stressful and there is no doubt about it, and you don’t have to tell anybody things are bad, and I believe that the authorities know much better than us”.

On his part, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samson Ayokunle said insecurity has paralysed activities across the country.

Ayokunle who is also the Co-chairman of NIREC said food security is being threatened as farmers are being killed by bandits in their farms.

He said: “Many things are not right with the nation, the most challenging one today is insecurity which has almost paralysed all human activities apart from the havoc the restriction brought about by Covid-19 has done.

“To travel short distances today calls for serious prayers, and traveling with perhaps every security personnel because of kidnapping for ransom, ritual killing, armed robbery, insurgents attack, banditry and other forms of violent attack.

“Farmers’ lives are threatened on their farms while some have been killed while farming. The result of attacks on farmers is a scarcity of farm products which will lead to famine if care is not taken by those in authority quickly”.