*Says some
govs have wrong priorities
*Abubakar III,
worthy scion of his fore-fathers, says VP
Sultan of
Sokoto, has advised Nigerians to stop hiding behind religion, politics and
tribal affiliations to commit crime.
The Sultan,
who is also the president-general, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs
(NSCIA) said this yesterday, in Sokoto, at an international symposium on the
Caliphate.
“People hide
under politics to say or do certain things that are totally against the
security of the state,” he said.
“If the person
is arrested, the next thing you hear is that it is because he does not belong
to the political party; what is bad is bad.
“Whether he is
a Muslim or Christian or APC or PDP, remove all these and let him answer his
name, a criminal, you have stolen government money.
“But once we
start using tribe among others to claim right, it is not good. We must all rise
up and help government to get the money back.”
He also
accused some leaders of having misplaced priorities, wondering why some
governors preferred to use billions to build airports when they could not pay
salaries of their state workforce.
Abubakar said
it was only when citizens begin to ask questions that governors and other
leaders would sit up and begin to take the people seriously.
“There is need
to begin to listen to the cry of the common man, to understand their needs
rather than just carrying out projects,” he said.
“Of what use
is it to be building airports worth billions of naira when the roads that the
common man travels are bad?
“Instead of
having an airport in Birnin Kebbi, that hardly sees one flight in one year and
then, you have an airport in Dutse that only lifts pilgrims; then you have an
airport in Kaduna in Bauchi and Gombe and another one in Ekiti, in Markudi and
so on, while the roads which the common man uses for his day to day activities
is so bad.
“You can
imagine if you are travelling from Minna to Abuja, how many hours it will take
you and from Lokoja to Okene down to Akure due to bad roads?”
In a related
development, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some national notable
personalities have described the Sultan as “a worthy scion of his
fore-fathers.”
Osinbajo spoke yesterday in Sokoto when he declared the International Symposium on the Sokoto Caliphate open, yesterday.
Osinbajo said:
“The Caliphate was founded over 200 years ago, on the sterling principles of
honesty, piety, good governance and truthfulness, among others.
“The
intellectual endeavours of the founding fathers of the caliphate on theology
and jurisprudence, among others, were relevant now as they were then. They left
legacies of wealth of resources in their books, premised on the principles of
good governance and social justice.”
The vice
president also stressed the need for social justice.
saying that
its absence always lead to chaos.
Osinbajo,
therefore, urged leaders to always protect public treasuries and not to loot
them.
The vice
president noted that the Sultan has continued in the path of his fore-fathers,
urging him not to relent.
He also noted
that the reign of the Sultan, came at a challenging time for Nigeria.
“But the
Sultan has handled them with pragmatism and graciousness.
“Leadership is
a privilege and the leaders must set moral and ethical tones for the society,”
he added.
Gov. Aminu
Tambuwal of Sokoto State also described the Sultan as an intellectually-endowed
leader. Tambuwal commended the Sultan for his sustained moral and royal support
to his administration.
“You are not
only a bridge builder, but the bridge itself,” Tambuwal said.
Chairman on
the occasion, Prof. Shehu Galadanchi, pioneer vice chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo
University, Sokoto, commended the Sultan for consistently working for peace,
unity and development.
The Chairman, Main Organising Committee and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, said: “The symposium was organised to reflect on the past, ponder on present and transform the future’’.
The keynote
Speaker, Prof. Murray Last, Professor Emeritus, University College, London,
said that the celebration of the Caliphate was to recognise its crucial importance.
He said: “The
Caliphate has been an institution in Northern Nigeria that possesses an
extraordinary phenomenon.
“The caliphate
has strengths which we need to understand, not as political scientists but as
Nigerians.
“For without
the Caliphate, Nigeria might never have existed. It would have been more like
Northern Ghana, a Burkina or a Mali.
“Celebrating
the Caliphate and recognising its importance is truly a great pleasure.”
The
celebrantor, the Sultan advocated a national security summit of all stakeholders
to brainstorm on most of the contemporary challenges affecting Nigeria.
These, he
said, include insurgency, militancy, kidnapping, armed robbery, cattle rustling
and farmers-herdsmen clashes.
However,
Abubakar III, said that these burning challenges should be discussed at the
proposed summit, as they were threatening the corporate existence of Nigeria.
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