Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, says Islam is not aimed at seizing political power in Nigeria.
Abubakar spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum’, a book authored by Lucky Irabor, former chief of defence staff.
The religious leader recalled being accused of opposing the re-election of former President Muhammadu Buhari after a 2011 lecture he delivered on Islam and good governance.
“In September 2019, I gave a talk on Islam and good governance in Nigeria. President Buhari was just going for his second term,” Abubakar said.
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“After giving my talk, the following day, the papers carried it that I was aiming at President Buhari’s second term because I said things that a good Muslim should do as a leader and what he should not do.”
The Sultan, who is also chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, said Islam provides a clear code of conduct for adherents and rejects extremism.
Abubakar dismissed the widespread belief that Jihad means killing non-Muslims, adding that it is about striving for excellence in any endeavour,
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“Jihad is not to kill a non-Muslim by a Muslim. Jihad means to strive, and in whatever you do in life, you strive to be the best you can be,” he added.
“You strive to be a good Muslim, you strive to be a good Christian, you strive to be a good farmer, or a good engineer.
“And these are written. So, we have a code of conduct; we have ways and means of life; the Holy Quran and the Hadith of our most noble Prophet (SA), and the consensus of the Ulama, that is, the clerics.
“These are the three things guiding us. Anybody coming outside these to say things that he really doesn’t know about is not for Islam because Islam abhors extremism.
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“You cannot be an extremist and then claim to be a good Muslim. So, let’s learn some of these issues, and then when we are talking about insecurity in our great country, we have to be careful in how we say things — how we present them.
“So, let’s come closer as one big family with different backgrounds to forge ahead to make this country a better country, because there is nothing anybody can do.”
He commended Irabor for his service to the country and for documenting his experiences in the fight against insecurity.
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