The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has expressed concern about the extent of suffering, insecurity, and poverty in Nigeria.
He warned that it would become increasingly difficult to keep the masses from revolting.
On Wednesday, the Sultan spoke to attendees at the 6th executive meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council at Arewa House in Kaduna.
He stated that traditional rulers and religious leaders have been calming the general populace, including unemployed youth, in order to avert an insurrection against the current political leaders.
The Sultan, on the other hand, said: “It is getting to a level that traditional leaders could no longer pacify the people from revolting against government and political leaders that are supposed to find solutions to their lingering socio-economic plight.”
“And don’t take it for granted; folks are silent for a reason: people are talking to them. We have been talking to them, telling them that everything will be fine, and they continue to believe.
“I pray to Almighty Allah that they would not wake up one day and say, ‘We no longer believe in you.’ That would be the most serious problem. We can’t keep these traditional, spiritual, and diplomatic leaders quiet forever.
“We’ve reached that point; people are agitated, hungry, and angry, but they still believe there are people who can speak to them.” They believe in some of their governors, traditional rulers, and religious leaders; thankfully, some of us serve as both traditional and religious leaders.
“So we have this onerous task of reaching out to everyone, calming them down, and assuring them that everything will be fine.” And that people should continue to pray while also doing something nice because praying without activity is ineffective.
“To make matters worse, the majority of our people are becoming increasingly poor. They lack the normal sources of income that allow the average person to eat a healthy dinner every day.
“But I feel that talking about insecurity and rising poverty rates are two topics that we cannot ignore. I’ve said it many times and in numerous forums that things aren’t going well in Nigeria. Of course, everything is not fine in the North.
“What are the real issues bringing about poverty and rising cases of insecurity? I don’t think it is the issue of the new government. To me, this government is a continuation of the former government. It is the same party. So, what really is the problem? I think that is one of the reasons we are here to talk to ourselves,” he stated.
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