BY Femi Owolabi
Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, has called on political leaders to take the AstraZeneca vaccine in the public glare so as to encourage people to follow suit.
The Islamic leader in Nigeria spoke at a sensitisation programme on COVID-19 vaccine for Muslim scholars and Imams on Friday.
He also appealed to Muslims to take the vaccine, saying Nigeria became polio-free because a vaccine was used about a decade ago.
In August 2020, the World Health Organisation(WHO) had declared Nigeria polio-free.
“We have seen the president take the vaccine publicly and we expect to see more political leaders take the vaccine openly,” he said.
“We believe all political leaders must take the COVID-19 vaccines first before the common man on the street because they are our leaders.
“There are those who do not believe in the vaccine or that COVID-19 even exists, but we believe because we have lost many of our close friends and family members.
“It is very important for us in advocating, to let people know that yes, COVID-19 is there and yes, there is a possibility of getting out of it. But it is left for you to act on it.
“It is left for you to want to take the vaccine because we will not force you. We only advise you and try to appeal to you as we did with the polio vaccine decades ago and today we are polio-free.”
The Sultan urged Islamic leaders to educate people in their various constituencies on the safety and importance of taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We all know the roles you play as leaders, your voices are very strong and people listen to you, they also believe in you,” he said.
About 8,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari has also led other public officials in publicly taking the vaccine.
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