…”95% of insecurity victims are Muslims” – Dambazau
Prominent northern leaders, including the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has pushed back against comments by Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, on Islamism and insecurity, stressing that the issues are often misunderstood and wrongly framed as religious.
Speaking in an interview during a television programme at the weekend, the Sultan clarified that Islamism is not a quest for political dominance but a call for ethical and accountable leadership rooted in Islamic values.
“I want to correct what Bishop Kukah said about Islamism. It is not aimed at seizing power at any forum; it’s about good governance in society and whoever is there”, he stated.
The Sultan recalled that Muslim leaders had fully supported former President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, throughout his tenure – a demonstration that Islamism promotes justice and leadership excellence, not sectarian control.
He also lamented persistent misinterpretations of Islamic teachings, citing how one of his own 2019 speeches on good governance was wrongly reported as criticism of then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have a code of conduct – the Holy Qur’an, the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW), and the consensus of scholars. These guide our understanding of leadership and governance”, the monarch explained.
Similarly, in a previous reaction to Bishop Kukah’s remarks before the U.S. Congress in 2021, General Dambazau dismissed suggestions that insecurity in the North was driven by religious bias, noting that the overwhelming majority of victims in the North-East were Muslims.
“Without contradiction, more than 95 percent of the victims are Muslims. For Bishop Kukah to portray it as Christian persecution is misleading. If he’s fighting injustice, it should be for humanity, not a section of it”, he stated.
Both leaders urged religious figures and commentators to avoid framing national challenges through sectarian lenses, emphasizing unity, truth, and good governance as the true pillars of peace and progress in Nigeria.
