The Sultan of Sokoto/President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called on security agencies to deal with criminals irrespective of their religion or tribe.
He urged Nigerians to be united and not allow themselves to be divided by external forces.
The Sultan, who spoke during the 10th General Assembly of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest Nigeria (MUSWEN) at the Bola Babalakin Auditorium in Gbongan, Osun State, condemned the killings by terrorists and bandits across the country,
According to him, “There have been a lot of talks about genocide, but I’ve said it and I keep saying it, I’ve never seen it or heard of a Christian denied his right to worship. We are living in harmony and we are not going to allow anybody to come and break us. We should not judge anyone. What we can do is to try to be the best we can be.
“Those killing people are not Muslims but criminals and I want to urge the security operatives to apprehend and deal decisively with criminals irrespective of their religion or tribe”.
The Sultan, who urged Nigerians to pray for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders to successfully discharge their responsibilities, also congratulated MUSWEN for being an umbrella body promoting unity and dialogue among Muslims in the southwest and urged other zones to emulate them.
The Keynote Speaker and Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, an engineer, said the theme of the event: “Nigeria’s Economy: Any Hope for the Masses?” aligned with the federal and state governments’ commitment to build a better country.
“President Bola Tinubu is bold and courageous to formulate sound economic policies, fiscal ingenuity, bold reforms implementation, strategic long-term plan, private sector partnership:, he stated.
Listing the many innovative projects of his administration, including in developing a thriving economy around the state’s mining assets, Sule urged other state governments to build on their comparative advantages to deliver infrastructure, complete major projects and improve living standards.
He said the increased revenue allocation to states makes it mandatory for state executives to improve the well-being of their citizens. “I want to urge the Muslim Ummah to continue to work together, care for each other and do everything possible to support this government,” Sule said.
Chairman of the MUSWEN Board of Trustees, Dr. Wale Babalakin, urged Muslims to uphold integrity and invest in education. According to Babalakin, the government would need to invest about 50 per cent of its annual budget in education over the next 20 years for it to raise youth able to meet 21st-century job market needs.
MUSWEN’s president, Rasaki Oladejo, said President Tinubu’s administration should be commended for its efforts at poverty reduction and improvement in primary healthcare delivery. He, however, urged the federal government to spend more on roads, railways and housing.
During the event, 12 medical students across the six South-West states were awarded scholarships under the ‘Sultan Abubakar Female Medical Students Scholarship Scheme’.
