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| Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III |
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar lll, has charged Nigerians to stop blaming a particular tribe for the insecurity challenge facing the country.
Rather than blaming a tribe, the Sultan tasked every Nigerian to be patriotic to correct things that are wrong in the society, saying “it is important for us to be courageous and expose those behind unlawful and criminal activities in the society.”
Speaking at the commissioning of Sheikh Idress Faazazi Morgaji Central Mosque in Iwo, Osun State on Saturday, the Sultan said harboring such a belief could cause an enmity among the ethnic groups and consequently affect the nation’s peace and unity.
Represented by the Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Prof. Dawud Noibl, the Sultan condemned the pronouncement that one ethnic group brought insecurity to Yorubaland.
He maintained that those engaging in criminal activities in Yorubaland could not operate successfully without the collaboration of the natives and local people.
The Sultan said: “Some people in Yorubaland must surely cooperate with those involving in kidnapping and others social vices to succeed. Foreign criminals don’t know how to move around without the assistance of the insider. They are given accommodation and they are also supplied food.
“Some Yoruba people must be giving the evil perpetrators the moral support to describe the area where the families of victims can pick them after collecting their ransom.
He advised Imams to use their position to change the mindset of the people from bad behaviour to doing the will of God.
Maintaining that mosques are owned by Allah, he advised that Muslims must pray together without any form of discrimination, irrespective of colour, tribe or nationality.
He said: “The Prophet Muhammad, (SAW) has told us that whoever builds a mosque on earth for worship of Allah, Allah will build a house for he/she in paradise. It is a reminder for us that we should not focus only on earthly materials. We should also prepare for our end in the above after which we go to paradise.”
Also, the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, TeluI, admonished Imams to demonstrate the fear of Allah, be transparent, responsible and accountable in administration of the mosques under their guidance and supervision.
The monarch, who corroborated the Sultan that Allah owns the mosques, charged the Imams to always follow the footsteps of Prophet Mohammad in caring for the spiritual needs of the people, saying mosques remain places of worshipping God “and people must be encouraged to enjoy have free access at all times.”
However, a community leader, Alhaji Liadi Tela, charged Nigerians to be more vigilante to assist the government in tackling the security challenges in the society
Tela, who also charged the people to work together with the security agents in their various communities to fight crimes, advised the government to have far reaching policies and programmes to create employment opportunities for jobless Nigerians, particularly the youths.
