Northern elders hail Sultans courage over worsening insecurity

Insist On Service Chiefs’ Removal

Some Northern elders have commended the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar 111 for summoning the courage to speak on the deplorable security situation in the troubled region.

The Sultan had, on Thursday, during a meeting organised by the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) decried the precarious security situation in the North, saying the region is now the worst place to live.

Reflecting on bandits’ activities in the North West, the Sultan said: “People leave foodstuff in their houses for bandits. There is a need for urgent action through actionable engagement, as the security situation in northern Nigeria has assumed a worrisome dimension.

“People think the North is safe, but that assumption is not true. In fact, it’s the worst place to be in this country. Bandits go around villages, households, and markets with AK47 rifles and nobody is challenging them. They stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed. These are facts I know because I am at the centre of it. I am not only a traditional ruler; I am also a religious leader… 

“We have to sincerely and seriously find solutions to the problem; otherwise, we will find ourselves soon, in a situation where we will be losing sleep over insecurity. As religious leaders, we must promote peace, love, unity, and tolerance among our followers…

The elders, therefore, called on other prominent leaders in the region to join voices in projecting the true position of things in the North, to attract relevant authorities’ attention.

They reiterated their call on President Muhammadu Buhari to rejig and restructure the country’s security architecture, to cause meaningful change in the status quo.