Nigeria will overcome present challenges, says Sultan

Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Jama’atul Nasir Islam, Sa’ad Abubakar lll

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, has assured the United States of America Government that Nigeria will soon overcome its challenges.

He said that the focus, determination and patriotic zeal of President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government was an indication that within a short period, Nigeria’s greatness would begin to manifest soon.

The Sultan was quoted to have said this while speaking with officials of the White House community and Religious  Partnership at the end of his four-day visit to the US on Saturday evening.

A statement issued by a former Commissioner for Information in Sokoto State, who was also part of the entourage, Mallam Danaladi Bako, said that the Sultan acknowledged the dogged commitment of the present administration to improve the quality of life in Nigeria through drastic reduction and dismantling of security obstacles and the scourge of insurgency.

According to the statement, the Sultan was of the opinion that the sustenance of peace and justice in the country would further provide necessary platform for improved development.

The religious leader was also said to have said that worship would be threatened in the absence of peace.

Continuous engagement, he said, remained a major ingredient and pre-requisite for good governance in the leadership’s effort to further unite Nigerians.

Assuring the White House officials of the commitment of traditional rulers to ensuring peace and stability in their communities, the Sultan was also said to have called on various aggrieved groups in Nigeria, to bury the hatchet and work towards a united and indivisible country.

While stressing  the need for peace, he said that as a retired combatant soldier, he had a clear knowledge of the impact of war and crisis on the citizenry as evidenced by humanitarian crisis emanating from insurgency, Fulani herdsmen versus farmers’ clashes and other communal strife in various parts of the country.

Responding to questions from the officials, the Sultan was also quoted as saying that a non-governmental organisation known as Sultan Foundation under his leadership, was established to contribute to the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons suffering from the impact of strife all over the country.

He was also said to have reminded the international community that God had a reason for creating various Nigerian ethnic groups and people as neighbours and brothers.

“Therefore, we have a patriotic duty to work vigorously to not only achieve peace, but also endeavour to sustain it,” he was quoted to have said.