The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, has dismissed claims of Islamisation in Nigeria, insisting Muslims are not planning to target or eliminate Christians and urging unity and accurate framing of insecurity.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Wednesday dismissed claims of a planned Islamisation of Nigeria, stating that Muslims were not seeking to decimate the population of Christians in the country. He made the remarks at the first triannual meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja, where religious and government leaders called for a reset in how the country understands its conflicts.
The Sultan, who co-chairs the council alongside the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Daniel Okoh, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, stressed the importance of dialogue and religious coexistence in maintaining peace. He said much of the violence often described as religious is being misunderstood, thereby deepening suspicion and mistrust among citizens.
The Sultan said, “Today, as I stand here, I want to affirm that Muslims are not in a hurry and are not planning anything like decimating the population of Christians in Nigeria. We are not in any position whatsoever to remove Christians from Nigeria. No, it is not possible.’’ He further urged Nigerians to avoid religious interpretations of insecurity, saying, “Let us get the narrative right; it is not about religion. Let us stop bringing religion into it. Let us call them what they are: criminals, not Muslim criminals, not Muslim terrorists, not Muslim bandits. Even if someone claims to be Muslim, what they do goes against Islam,’’ the Sultan said.
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