"Way Out Of Terrorism" - Sultan Of Sokoto

In an attempt to answer critics who are of the opinion that elders in the northern part of Nigeria are not doing enough on the issue of terrorism, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has revealed way out to the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism as a whole.

While speaking on Wednesday at the first Inter-Faith Health Summit, organised by the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association in Abuja, the respected elder statesman stated that the only way Nigeria could overcome terrorism is for all Nigerians to unite and fight the common enemies of the nation.

According to him, faith leaders in the country are determined to contribute towards improving the health of Nigeria’s population, especially the children, but he noted that such a dream would only come true in a peaceful atmosphere.

“For the problem of insecurity, what we must do is to come together as one body to fight terrorism at all levels. Terrorism does not know who is a Christian or who is a Muslim. When terror strikes, we all see what happens; Muslims are killed, Christians are killed. Even those who do not possess any religion are killed.

“If we are at war, we can’t even sit together, you can’t go to church, you can’t go to mosque; you would remain indoors.

“What we need to do as leaders at all levels is come together to defeat terrorism. We plead with our foreign partners, disperse the message that we need you to come together with us so that we bring to an end the insecurity issues facing our country," he said.
The Sultan also advised the media to stop writing negative stories about Nigeria, as it related to the World Economic Forum on Africa going on in Abuja.

“There are many good things happening that require that the world come together. And, Nigeria is playing the role very well. You can see how we (leaders of faith in Nigeria) relate with one another; we meet personally; we attend functions together,” he said.

The Sultan made an attempt to correct the misconception that Muslims are against any faith in the country, noting that all they (Muslims) want is “to live their lives according to the Islamic dictates, without any hindrance and without any let up.”

It could be recalled that Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the head of Nigeria’s Muslim community, President-General, Jaamatu Nasril Islam (JNI) recently stated that "nobody can islamise Nigeria".

This was when he was delivering his speech at the Golden Jubilee lecture of the JNI in Kaduna.