Sultan of Sokoto urges protesters to dialogue with govt

Sultan of Sokoto also called on Imams and Muslim leaders to calm nerves and call on the “Ummah” to embrace peace

By Kehinde Okeowo

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has appealed to EndBadGovernance protesters to end their demonstrations and dialogue with the government.

He made the call recently in a statement issued and made available to pressmen by the Secretary-General of JNI, Prof. Khalid Aliyu. 

TheNiche had earlier reported that the nationwide hunger protest commenced on Thursday, August 1, with many Nigerians trooping to the streets. 

However, the first day of the protest witnessed widespread violence and lootings across major cities, with several protesters reportedly dead.

Reacting to the development, the Sultan of Sokoto urged Jumu’ah mosque Imams and Muslim leaders all over Nigeria to calm nerves and call on the “Ummah” to appreciate peace than chaotic state of affairs.

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He went on to call on Nigerians that are demonstrating to end the protest and urgently come to the table for dialogue.

Speaking via the statement, the Sultan of Sokoto said, “We in the name of Allah, the Most High, call for an end to the snowballing rampage, in the name of protest.

“We should all understand that there must be a stable country called Nigeria, before we can proudly call ourselves Nigerians.

“With tomorrow being Friday, Jumu’ah mosque Imams and Muslim leaders are implored to calm nerves and call on the Ummah to appreciate peace rather than chaotic state of affairs, which may even deny us congregational prayers.”

Abubakar further urged all Nigerians to be in continued prayers for Allah’s apt intervention on the current situation in the country.