Rivers Governor Wike pays Sallah home to Gidan Sarikin Sokoto, says Sultan is father to all Nigerians

Governor of Rivers State Mr. Nyesom Wike has declared Sultan his recognition of Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) as father to all Nigerians.

Governor Wike made this declaration when he paid a Sallah homage to the Sultan at Gidan Sariki, Sultan’s Palace on Tuesday.

He told his royal host that the people and government of Rivers believed in the indivisibility of Nigeria even as he further averred that there were better ways to solve the agitations and problems of Nigeria, rather than pondering on a break up.

Governor Wike’s statement at the Sultan’s Palace might mean his response to the disrespect for the laws of Nigeria and agitations for secession by Igbo youths under the aegis of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), who have continued for long without check by their government, political and traditional leaders.

The visiting governor said, ”Rivers and its people believe in the oneness and unity of Nigeria and that is our stand.

”The Sultan is a father to all Nigerians and he is a peace builder in Nigeria and beyond.

”We have also been friends with Tambuwal since and before his emergence as a Speaker, House of Representatives and this will be sustained in spite of party differences,” Wike averred.

Tambuwal, who accompanied Wike, had earlier said that the visit would not have come at a better time than now, and restated his belief in the unity of Nigeria.

The governor said that the visit would help to strengthen the bond of unity between the two states.

Responding, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, told his guests that the ongoing agitations in the country were symptoms of rot in the Nigerian system.

The sultan said: ”In the past, a lot of things were done by some people with impunity and nothing was done, adding that it was “weighing us down now in the country”.

”However, as it is now, no matter how bad your hand is, you cannot cut it and throw away,” the monarch said.

Sultan Abubakar III stressed the need to use dialogue to resolve all the misunderstandings and problems in the country.

The royal father said Nigerians should sit together, brainstorm, look at what went wrong, retrace their steps and move forward, appealing to statesmen in the country to intervene and assist in this direction.

He said Nigeria was not short of statesmen but pointed out that helping in championing the dialogue to resolve issues among the people should be a major responsibility of those statesmen.

”We should not allow sentiments to rule our heads. Nigeria is a very big and lucky country and we have no any other nation we can call our own.

”We should love one another irrespective of any religious, ethnic or cultural differences,” Abubakar said.

He also extolled the developmental strides of Wike in Rivers, as well as his existing relationship with the Muslim community in his state.

Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III is the only monarch in Nigeria that crisscrosses mobilising Nigerians to live in peace and harmony as he always makes it clear to all that only in unity the chances of the nation to move forward reside.