Sultan
of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has advised Nigerians to stop
attaching religious connotation to anything negative, decrying the fact
that Fulani herdsmen are being accused of every attack in the country.
Speaking
during a dinner organised for religious leaders, security agencies and
journalists in his palace in Sokoto Saturday night, the monarch wondered why
people blame Fulani herdsmen for every attack in their communities.
He
noted with dismay that the issue had been politicised while anything negative
is being attributed to Fulani herdsmen, even though there were other people
committing heinous crimes elsewhere but not linked to religion, ethnicity and
region.
“If
criminals are doing bad things, they are criminals and they can be found
anywhere, in any religion and tribe. Therefore don’t add religious or tribal
toga to any act of terrorism.
“Fulani men are only after their cattle
not after any government or its policies and programmes. How can they carry
weapons, to go and do what with it ?,” he queried.
He observed that Muslims feel
more marginalised in the country only that they were not complaining.
“When there is a vacant position and a
Hausa man is appointed, we called it ‘northernisation and when a Muslim leader
visit an Islamic country we say he is trying to islamise Nigeria.
“In fact, there are many people from
other religion and tribes occupying other offices and we witness many christian
leaders who have visited Christian countries but nobody said they were planning
to Christianise the country,” he said.
The
Sultan said Nigeria is a beautiful country and its people love one another, but
blamed the elites for some of the challenges bedeviling Nigeria.
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