26th August,
2020
PRESS RELEASE:
MURIC CELEBRATES SULTAN AT 64
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the
Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar,
became 64 on Monday 24th August 2020. Hundreds of well-wishers have
paid homage to the topmost Nigerian traditional ruler as he marks the occasion.
In its goodwill message, the Nigerian Islamic human
rights association described Sultan Abubakar as cerebral, uncommon and totally
detribalised. MURIC’s goodwill message was contained in a press release signed
by the director of the organisation, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Wednesday, 26th
August 2020.
The statement reads:
“We join millions of Nigerians to celebrate a
unique leader, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme
Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa‘ad Abubakar, as he
turns 64.
“Sultan
Abubakar is a cerebral, dynamic, uncommon and totally detribalised leader. He accommodates
all regardless of ethnicity or creed. He thinks more of the whole country than
of Sokoto Sultanate. Instead of leading a sedentary existence or exhibiting
armchair leadership, the Sultan has been highly mobile. From Enugu to Nguru,
from Oshogbo to Kaura-Namoda, the Sultan has left his foot print on the Nigerian
architectural discuss. Consequently, he has enjoyed nation-wide love and
confidence among all which no Sultan before him ever enjoyed.
“More fascinating is the manner he has closed the
gap between the adherents of Christianity and Islam. His level of religious tolerance
is nulli secundus. His cool-headedness in the face of provocation is
legend. Sultan Abubakar’s sense of humour is numero uno. He can collect
candy from a hungry lion. Yet behind the calm façade is a tactician and a
fearless strategist primus inter pareil.
“Nigerian
Muslims have gained a lot from his leadership and the religion of Islam has
made tremendous progress under him. Perhaps his greatest gift is his ability to
mobilise stakeholders at different levels and locations for various
developmental purposes. Sultan Abubakar is an achiever, a quintessential leader, an embodiment of visionary mentorship and a
personification of nationalistic propensity.
“We therefore charge Nigerian Muslims to remain
loyal to the central leadership and to shun all irredentist elements and ethnic
jingoists with their misleading ideology of North-South dichotomy and a
non-existent inferiority cum superiority complex. Those who tell you that
Northern Muslims despise you only wish to divide us. Their intention is to
weaken Islamdom. Stop listening to them.
“It is not the
business of non-Muslims to tell us that some Muslims hate us. It is a trick
used by those who deny Southern Muslims their Allah-given fundamental human
rights. They wish to divert your attention from their monopoly of the dividends
of democracy. We remind Muslims in the Southern part of Nigeria that Islam is
ethnicity-blind. Muslims are one nation as Islam recognises no geographical boundaries.
“There is no
difference between a Northern and a Southern Muslim. The Glorious Qur’an says, ‘Verily
indeed this brotherhood of yours is a single brotherhood and I am your Lord.
Therefore, worship Me’ (Qur’an 21:92). Southern Muslims should also note that the
hadith forbids al-Jannah for any Muslim who dies while promoting ethnicity
above the religion of Islam.
“We must make
our number count by remaining united and by speaking with one voice. Nigerian
Muslims have never had it so good because we now have a leader who is very
active and he is accepted by all. We should therefore rally behind him and
ignore those who appeal to tribal sentiment.
“We beseech Almighty Allah to continue to protect and
bless Sultan Muhammad Sa‘ad Abubakar as well as members of his family. We pray
for long life on the throne for him in an atmosphere of peace, tranquility and
progress. Age with grace, the Sultan of the people.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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