Sultan of Sokoto recognises The DEFENDER, as his 15th coronation anniversary symposium holds
By KEMI KASUMU
“I don’t know whether we should adopt you (Premium Times) as our second online newspaper after The DEFENDER because, it is only The DEFENDER that has been defending us and writing about us.”
The Sultan of Sokoto and Co-President, World Religions for Peace Council, headquartered in New York, United States of America, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has made a public recognition of Nigeria’s young but fast growing online newspaper, The DEFENDER.
He made the recognition at the all-important event of a symposium in commemoration of his 15th Anniversary as 20th Sultan of Sokoto, held at the International Conference Centre, Sokoto, on Monday 1 November, 2021.
The Sultan, known to be well reserved and very highly principled, shocked the management of Defender Media Limited, when he made the morale boosting announcement.
To the media organisation, whose Advisory Board President is AIG Mu’azu Idris Hadejia (Rtd), “this public recognition by His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, is further confirmation of the word of Allah, that doers of good should go on working with pure intention, until Allah, his messenger and pious people will notice and stamp their good work with public recognition. This is what Baba has done.
“We assure the Sultan and the entire people of Nigeria that what they see us doing well, we will not only continue to do but also improve on it and even do it better.”
The Sultan, who started his remarks by lauding the paper presenter at the event and Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Aliyu Usman Tilde, for bringing to the fore the problem that pastoralists living in the bush have caused the Fulani race in the country, also recognised and thanked the Premium Times Books for republishing in 2020 the book on ‘The Sokoto Caliphate.’
The book, written by Dr. Denis Murray Last, was first published in 1967 by Longmans, Green and Co Ltd.
While commending the initiative of the Premium Times Books, the President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) revealed how he personally engaged in underground checks before he could permit the book republishing to go ahead.
He said, “When they (Premium Times) came to me in Abuja and talked to me about the republishing of the book, The Sokoto Caliphate, I had to call Dr. Dennis Murray Last by myself in his home in the UK. I told him about it and he said they came to him and that he had given them the go-ahead.”
Reason for the extra checks, the retired Army General and former old Kwara State football administrator said, “Because I don’t want to have the issues of piracy.”
Seizing the opportunity of the remarks during which he also appreciated the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and his government for the working being done, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar said:
“I don’t know whether we should adopt you (Premium Times) as our second online newspaper after The DEFENDER because, it is only The DEFENDER that has been defending us and writing about us.”
