Nigeria not a secular state –Sultan

Posted by admin National Politics, Religion, Sultan of Sokoto, Top Stories Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Sultan of Sokoto

The 20th Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, could easily be mistaken for an ordinary man when one hears him speak. He cracks jokes freely and takes special interest in making you feel that he is just one of you. But the Sultan is also a practical man as he does not hide his feelings on any issue.

The Sarkin Musulumi displayed these qualities much recently when he met with journalists at his palace for Ramadan breaking of fast. He spoke on a wide range of issues from the insurgency of Boko Haram to the proposed Islamic banking. Excerpts:

JOURNALISM PROFESSION
Our Journalists must uphold the doctrine of the acronym 3ps- meaning professionalism, patriotism and positivism. These are very important guide on how journalists should go about their duties. They need to respect the ethics of their profession, avoid whatever will cause disharmony in the country and always see things the way they are, by remaining unbiased at all times.

This reminds me of an interview conducted by a radio reporter recently. It was in the southern part of the country. The man, while answering the question asked by the journalist said he was prepared to follow whatever directive given by the Sultan regarding the commencement of Ramadan. But because he did not say what the radio man wanted, the reporter started twisting the issue but the man insisted, he stood by what he said earlier.

You can see why it is very important for members of your profession to uphold the truth at all times. Let me also recall what happened during the last general elections when some journalists reported that a group of people attempted to burn down the palace. We were all surprised when we heard the news because nothing like that happened here. I don’t know why journalists are fond of celebrating calamities even when they cannot find one. Some of them prefer purely to please themselves.

This accounted for what happened recently when the Inspector General of Police visited me here. I knew some of you were waiting for me to just say anything so that you can have something you can blow out in your respective media outfits. Having understood journalists very well the two of us did what we wanted to do behind close door and left you with nothing to write.

What some of you do not know is that I was trained to deal with journalists. It is part of our training as a military officer. Believe me, I know how to handle journalists. One thing that gladdens my heart, however, is that we don’t have any problem with you here. Maybe because the aura of the caliphate has enveloped you which is good for your profession. Journalism is expected to be a noble profession and anything done contrary to that is unacceptable.

We have more than enough problems you can write about. We have the problems of incessant power failure, youth unemployment, bomb scare here and there. I think all these should be the areas journalists should concentrate their writings on with a view to sanitizing the system so that we can all be proud of our father land.

MOON SIGHTING
The issue of moon sighting is no doubt a sensitive issue. That is why we ensure that we have acceptable rules and regulations that must be followed before arriving at any decision on the issue. We have committees on moon sighting in all the 36 states including a national moon sighting committee.

Similarly, we have binoculars in the six geopolitical zones in the country to assist us. The emirs also have their own committees. All these measures are to ensure wide spread consultations on the issue of moon sighting.
Let me use this opportunity to say that there was no controversy whatsoever regarding moon sighting at the commencement of this year’s Ramadan. None of these committees reported that they saw the moon on the day in question and that was why I directed that moon was not sighted on that day. I am happy to say that more than 90percent of the 80million Muslims in this country respected my directive and did not commence fasting until I directed that they should do so. For this reason it will be wrong for anyone to say that there was controversy.

Only few people did not honor my directive. They were so insignificant that one should not bother himself about that. They are free to do whatever pleases them. They are not fasting for me but rather the Almighty Allah. For me, I am more than satisfied that majority of Muslims followed my directive particularly the entire Muslims from the southern part of the country.

What many do not understand is that we have rules which must be adhered to under whatever circumstances. Anything after 8:30pm, no one can claim to have seen the moon. Anybody who makes such claim would not be taking seriously. Experience has shown that it is not everybody we have to believe on this matter, not every report we receive we have to honor.

There was a particular report showing that the moon was sighted by some people whose names were mentioned in the report. But when these people appeared before the committee in charge, they all denied seeing the moon. They said they did not know how their names got into the report. There are other funny incidences like that too numerous to mention. It is not every report that we can rely on except the one emanating from the recognized committee.

My position on the issue of moon sighting could be likened to that of referee on a field of soccer whose decision is final. I have the responsibility to uphold the tenets of Islam at all times and ensure that the unity of the Muslim ummah is not compromised for whatever reason. I don’t have anything personal, nothing selfish, all I did is in the best interest of all the Muslims.

The problem is that everybody in this country wants to be big a man. Every individual that can recite a Qur’anic verse is a Sheik. No one wants to take the back seat. They have forgotten that we can only have one leader at a time that must be respected for the sake of our unity. This, I think, every Muslim must understand.

BOKO HARAM
The fundamental issue here is that who are these people and who are their leaders? This has made the issue to be so complex. It is only when we are able to identify them that any meaningful dialogue can take place. For this reason, I think the effort being made by the Federal Government towards finding out who these people are is a step in the right direction. It is my hope that this people will seize the opportunity of this holy month to come out and say what are their problems so that we can finally give peace a chance.

Government should as a matter of necessity dialogue with them. Government should investigate thoroughly the circumstances surrounding the death of their leader with a view to finding out who is at fault. There is the need to clear the issue once and for all because this might be the reason behind their actions. Having said that, the military should as a matter of urgency, stop killing people indiscriminately particularly in the operational areas of these Boko Haram people. They should strictly follow the rules of engagement as we were thought in the military, you don’t attack built up areas.

ISLAMIC BANKING
I don’t know why the issue of Islamic banking is raising the dust it is raising now. It is very unfortunate. One good thing about it is that there are some people who are non Muslims but who are saying good things about Islamic banking.

The truth of the matter is that there is nothing Islamic about Islamic banking. It is purely economic. The bank is for all Nigerians and no one is forced to patronize it. So, why the fuss over Islamic banking?
I keep on wondering how some people came about the idea that Islamic banking is capable of Islamizing Nigeria. I think there are enough problems in this country that should attract people’s attention other than Islamic banking. I think we should start thinking about what will unite us as a people rather than what will further divide us.

Anyone saying Nigeria is a secular nation does not understand the meaning of the word “secular.” There is nothing secular about the Nigerian nation since whatever we do will always put Islam and Christianity in the fore front. I think the earlier we learn how to live with ourselves, respect each other’s feelings the better for us in this country.

-Sunwp_posts