By KAZEEM OLANREWAJU, Abuja
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, called for a peaceful elections process free of acrimony as 2019 general elections draw near.
Sultan Abubakar spoke at the just concluded interfaith conference also attended by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja over the weekend, where Archbishop Welby also said that peace, as a universal and not conditional, is required in the country.
The Sultan like other co-convener of the conference called for religious harmony which he described as important for peaceful coexistence in any society.
On the upcoming elections, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar said it is only God that gives power, warning that progress and development would continue to elude Nigeria if acrimony, mistrust and backbiting are being promoted.
“However, we succeeded in securing the commitment and trust of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police and other critical stakeholders that would be involved in the electoral process. We had similar efforts in 2015 and it resulted in peaceful election that led to surprise defeat of the incumbent president in 2015. We hope that peace and tolerance will envelop the forthcoming elections,” he said.
The Archbishop Justin Welby has described the desire for peace as universal, not unconditional.
Welby said whenever Nigeria faced problems whether in terrorism, economic hardship, the death of farmers or herdsmen, he becomes “deeply distressed and mourn” as if they were members of his family.
Onaiyekan described the Nigeria’s political space as ‘selfish’ adding that it is the selfishness that is holding the nation down.
“Selfishness at all levels: personal, family, tribe, region and even religion. This is at the root of corruption, violence, disloyalty and the win at all costs and by all means syndrome at elections. If we continue this way, good governance, genuine democracy, national unity, peace and prosperity for all Nigerians will continue to elude us,” Onaiyekan said.
