The Sultan of Sokoto and President, Nigeria Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs (SCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has said that things are not getting better in the country.
The Sultan advised that the earlier we know this, the better for us so that we can find means and ways of solving the problem.
He also stressed that Nigerians need to understand one another rather than tolerating themselves so that things will get better and normal.
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The Sultan stated this in Gombe, the Gombe State capital, during a courtesy call on Governor Muhammad Imuwa Yahaya on Thursday at the Government House.
He was in Gombe to attend the third National Summit of Peaceful Coexistence and Nation Building with the theme, ‘Peaceful Coexistence, Social Cohesion and Nation Building,’ organised by the Da’awah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN).
The Sultan said: “I know what I am saying and I can say it anywhere. We must tell ourselves the whole truth, let’s not deceive ourselves that things are getting better.
“Things are not getting better and the earlier we know this, the better for us so that we can find means and ways of solving the problem, it is as simple as that.
“We want to thank you, followers, for being patient with us but being good followers does not mean you should not tell us where we are wrong and where we are right.
“If we do right vote for us, if we do not do right don’t vote for us. Nobody should force you to vote against the person you don’t like, if they give you money, take and go and vote for the person you think is better. A hungry man is an angry man, we must check the poverty level in this country,” he said.
Yahaya said three-quarters of the problems in Nigeria are caused by the leaders.
He said: “I agree hundred percent that things are not normal in this country and it is our own making. God has provided all the benefits that we need in order to have a peaceful and harmonious relationship.
“But because of the greed of some elites who are destroyers and not producers. Really, if we go down, you will find that the ordinary man is very hard-working, very innocent, and self-contented with anything but the greedy elements who want the whole world to be their own will come in any shape and make them destroy themselves.
“This fight is everybody’s fight. We must come together, we must join hands and struggle. The origin of all these problems is tied to the elites both traditional and political.
“The whole of the North is now in a crisis that if we are not very careful, it may consume all of us. That is why today, their target is no longer the ordinary or rich man, they also target the Emir or Chief because the public system doesn’t work.”
He further said that “if the government was serious about solving our socio-economic problems, then the issue of hunger must be addressed squarely because a hungry man is an angry man.”
He then charged the Muslim and Christian clerics in the country to go back to their pulpits to preach peace and practice what the holy books prescribed for the peaceful coexistence of the society.
Earlier In his message, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who was represented by Reverend Father Joseph Shinga, said that Nigeria is currently going through difficult times in terms of social integration and cohesion.
The cleric also regretted that suspicion, religious bigotry and sentiments seem to be the order of the day and spoke on the need for Nigerians to stay together in peace and coexist side by side in mutual respect.