SULTAN PLEADS FOR UNITY OVER BOKO HARAM

The Sultan of Sokoto and leader of Muslims in Nigeria, Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, has challenged Islamic sects in the country to unite and fight Boko Haram insurgency.

The Sultan, while condemning the suicide bomb blasts at the Kano Central Mosque on Friday, which left about 120 worshippers dead and many others injured, stated that “those behind all the attacks are not Muslims.”

He spoke on Saturday in Abuja during a post-2014 Hajj conference organised by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria held at the National Mosque.

Abubakar said, “I do not believe those perpetrating these are Muslims, because if they are Muslims, they are not professing what Islam teaches.

“In the world over, it is the duty and responsibility of government to provide security for the citizenry. This is the time for all the various sects in Islam in this country to rally round one another and end insurgency in this country.”

The monarch said it was time for all stakeholders, particularly the Federal Government, to rise up to the responsibility of ending insurgency in the country.

He also enjoined stakeholders to join hands and end the violence being perpetrated by Boko Haram in the country.

The Secretary-General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, while condemning the attack, reiterated the need for the Federal Government to show more commitment towards ending the carnage in the North-East.

Aliyu further challenged the Federal Government to move from mere speech making on the issue of ending Boko Haram to taking decisive actions that would portray the government as serious in its anti-terrorism crusade.

The JNI scribe said, “I think it is very important that this matter be looked at with all purposes and intents, and with a very serious focus on efforts from the government which has the constitutional mandate to look after the security and welfare of the people.

“We have called with the loudest of our voice on the government but up till this moment, we hear only mere speeches not matched with actions and efforts aimed at curtailing this scourge and epidemic threatening the lives of the Muslims.

“Where have you ever heard that even in a worship environment, a mosque for people to worship is bombed and over hundred people killed? Up to this moment, no arrest has been made; nothing from the government unto whom we are going to rely. I call on all Muslim leaders, elders, parents, Imams and scholars to come together to speak and brainstorm on how they can provide succour and help in any effort that we are going to get from the government.”