Sultan opposes troops in Borno, absolves Boko Haram of violence

Posted by admin General Politics, Religion, Sultan of Sokoto, Top Stories Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Sultan of Sokoto

he warned against the breach of Nigeria’s unity, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has asked other Nigerians to stop antagonising the Muslim community.

To the opponents of Islamic banking, Sultan said the bickering on the matter was unnecessary because, “we are on our way and non-interest banking has come to stay.”

After reviewing recent developments in the country, Abubakar said the Boko Haram sect was not responsible for the cases of bombings and violence in some states in the North, adding that the controversial Islamic banking is a fait accompli.

At a pre-Ramadan meeting in Kaduna yesterday, Abubakar, who doubles as President of NSCIA and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), said the forum would discuss issues affecting the Muslim Ummah (community) in particular and most especially the unity of the faithful in the country.

Sultan said: “Islam is a religion of peace,” but regretted that non-Muslims do not want peace to reign in the country.

The monarch said Boko Haram should not be held responsible for the spate of bomb blasts in Maiduguri and other parts of the country; a belief nursed by some Nigerians.

He described as “non-negotiable” any issues concerning Muslims and urged them to remain united because “we all know the importance of unity in Islam as clearly spelt out in the Holy Quran and we know the importance of unity in anything we do because if we are not united those who are opposing you will have an opportunity to hit you harder than ever.”

Meanwhile, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Ethics and Values, Dr. Sarah Jubril, yesterday disclosed that government had indirectly entered into discussions with Boko Haram members to ensure lasting peace in the country.

Also, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the Federal Government to change its strategy of resolving the crisis.

Speaking at her maiden interaction with the media in Abuja, Jubril said she had also been having one-on-one discussions with the group’s members on ways of making them put an end to the killings in some parts of the country.

Jubril noted that she took up the challenges in order to ensure that Nigerians were united and embrace ethical values to further promote the country globally, adding that no country could develop under insecurity.

Boko Haram members, according to her, should be engaged positively, advising monarchs to play an active role in ensuring that peace reigns in Nigeria.

She said that in her discussions with the group, she was made to understand that their decisions were taken based on the fact that they were fed up with western government and education, which they claimed, had not brought any positive change to the society.

-Guardianwp_posts