The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, has condemned pastors and Imams
who are after material things while their followers get poorer.
The monarch, who is in Akure, Ondo State capital for the 2019 annual
Ulefunta public lecture came hard on religious leaders some of whom he
accused of preaching violence to their followers.
Urging them to take caution, Abubakar said good leaders are expected
to teach their followers on how to salvage their lives.
“Don’t politicise religion. God does not belong to any political
party. The bible doesn’t belong to any political party, so does the
Quran. If you are a good pastor, Imam, teach people how to salvage
their lives,” he said.
“This life is a temporary one, the permanent life is eternal. There is
a lot of materialism out there. They move in convoys with guns, big
vehicles saying they are the founders of this church, this Islamic
movement, all in the bid to make worldly things for themselves and
their followers are there shouting Alleluia, shouting Allahuakbar.
They are getting richer and richer and the common man is getting
poorer and poorer.
“As religious leaders, we must tell the truth and we are helping
government to stabilise the nation and maintain peace in the country.
Let’s never get tired or be afraid to come together to talk, no matter
how tough, bad or negative things seem to be. If we sit down at the
dialogue table, we will resolve all issues.
“Communication is the most important. If people take up arms against
one another, they will one day come to the dialogue table. If you know
you can sit down and find solution to your problem, why take up arms
in the first place? That is why religious leaders must always preach
peace, must always talk about dialogue and must never talk about
picking up arms to kill one another because you don’t create life,
life belongs to God Almighty and you can’t take life because you never
created it. We must always preach Godliness and understanding.”
Urging both Christians and Muslims to see one another as neighbours,
he said himself and about 187 world Muslim leaders once wrote a letter
through the pope to all Christian leaders in the world entitled “The
Common Word.”
He explained that there is a common thread between Christians and
Muslims, calling for friendship between all.
Addressing the Deji of Akure, Ogunlade Aladeusi, the sultan said; “If
I sat down in Sokoto, and you are here in Akure, we will not
communicate properly. By coming here, we found out that we all have
the same agenda but we are not executing it the same way. The more you
come close know one another, the better we function as one family.”
He also touched on the alleged demolition of a mosque in Rivers State,
saying discussions were ongoing with the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN) in the state and they were making resolution.
