Vice President Kashim Shettima has told the government of Sokoto State that His Eminence, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III must be guarded jealously.
Vice President Shettima, who spoke at the ongoing North West Peace & Security Summit taking place in Katsina, Katsina State, said: “In all developmental issues in this country, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, I want to use him as a point of reference to recognise and appreciate all our royal fathers present here.
“And to the Deputy Governor of Sokoto, I have a simple message for you. Yes, the Sultan is the Sultan of Sokoto. But he is much more than that. He represents an idea. He is an Institution that all of us in this country need to jealousy guard, protect, promote, preserve and project for the growth of our nation.”
Shettima open statement came after the Executive Director of Muslim Rights Council (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, raised the alarm that the Sokoto government is allegedly plotting to depose the Sultan.
The alarm and Vice President’s statements came just as Governor Ahmed Aliyu had earlier deposed 15 traditional rulers for various offences.
In his statement, Akintola said Nigerian Muslims would reject any thought of deposing the Sultan.
According to the MURIC leader: “Feelers in circulation indicate that the Governor may descend on the Sultan of Sokoto any moment from now using any of the flimsy excuses used to dethrone the 15 traditional rulers whom he removed earlier.
“MURIC advises the Governor to look before he leaps. The Sultan’s stool is not only traditional. It is also religious. In the same vein, his jurisdiction goes beyond Sokoto. It covers the whole of Nigeria. He is the spiritual head of all Nigerian Muslims. Therefore, any governor who tampers with the stool of the Sultan will have Nigerian Muslims to reckon with because the Sultan combines the office of the Sultan of Sokoto and that of the President General of the NSCIA.
“For the avoidance of any doubts, Sultan Muhammad Sa’d Abubakar is not only the Sultan of Sokoto but the Sultan of the Nigerian people. His performance and style of leadership have warmed him into the hearts of Nigerians. Nigerian Muslims North and South of the country may be constrained to pick Islamic scholars only as President General of the NSCIA and overall leader of Nigerian Muslims.
“It will be farewell to the leadership of traditional rulers over the NSCIA and an irreversible departure from Sokoto’s priviledged leadership position. But history will not be kind to Col. Yakubu Muazu and Ahmed Aliyu for ruining the chances of Sokoto.
“Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, the third time is enemy action. If the deposition of a Sultan and NSCIA leader happens a second time, Nigerian Muslims will not allow the embarrassment to happen a third time.
“MURIC reiterates its call on the Sokoto State House of Assembly to either repeal or review the state’s chieftaincy laws by adding the phrase ‘except the Sultan of Sokoto’ to Section 6, Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria which empowers the state governor to depose the emirs including the Sultan.
“We urge Northern elites and Islamic scholars based in the North to intervene before it is too late. This is the time to lobby the Sokoto State House of Assembly and the governor himself. If the chieftaincy laws of Kano State can be repealed within 24 hours, nothing stops that of Sokoto State from being reviewed in favour of immunity for the office of the Sultan in a single day to save Nigerian Muslims from humongous embarrassment.”
The rumours of the planned deposition of Sultan of Sokoto came after the Sokoto State government said there was a plan to amend section 76 of the Local Government and Chieftaincy law to align with prevailing practices within the State.
Under the current law, the authority to appoint district and village heads lies with the Sultanate Council.
However, in practice, the Sultanate Council merely provides recommendations to the State government, with the Governor ultimately making the appointments.
Nasir Binji, the Sokoto State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice told journalists that the proposed amendment aimed to synchronise the legal framework with the customary procedure in Sokoto State, stating that under the proposed amendment, the Sultanate Council would retain the power to recommend candidates, while the authority to appoint would be vested in the Governor.