Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar yesterday said Nigeria remains a secular state.
Responding to alleged lop-sidedness in appointments in the security forces and federal ministries allegedly made in favour of Christians, the sultan said: “Nobody can Christianize Nigeria, just as no one can Islamize Nigeria”.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 71st National Islamic Vocation Course organized by the 19 northern states and FCT branches of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria in Gusau, Zamfara State, the sultan declared that Nigeria was created for Muslims and Christians, and therefore any attempt to change the trend would fail.
The sultan also commended the commitment of the former Kano State governor Ibrahim Shekarau for his active participation in Islamic activities and challenged Islamic leaders to always indentify themselves with the religion through active involvement in religious activities.
He reiterated the need for the federal government to device means of reaching out to the members of the Boko Haram for dialogue so as to end insurgency in the north, stressing that the use of force would never solve the insurgency as even the United States of America resorts to dialogue in most cases and Nigeria can also use the same approach.
The sultan noted with concern, the refusal of the federal government to use dialogue in handling the current problem, urging people to stop making utterances that are capable of causing disunity in the nation.
National Amir of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Surajudeen Folawiyo, decried the maltreatment of Muslims in the South-west and called for a change of attitude.
He observed that Muslim children in the region were being barred from observing some key religious rites such as wearing of the hijab, even in Unity Schools, adding that it would not augur well for the unity of the country.
Source: Daily Trust
