*Worried by North’s 50,000 orphaned by Boko Haram insurgency
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Myhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has called for the immediate reversal and cancellation of the newly launched security network for the Northern region.
The DEFENDER Thursday reported that a group, Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, had earlier launched a Northern Nigeria Security Initiative, NNSI, codenamed ‘Shege Ka Fasa’, with photo of a roaring lion on its proposed logo, to combat the seeming unabated insecurity in the region.
But as a leader with impeccable character and vast knowledge in security regarding the implications of a polarised such security initiative, especially when it has more into it than seen, the Sultan urged the regional leaders to caution the youths spareheading the North’s ethnicity based security outfit.
Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar, a retired Army General that is also a cross-border religious and traditional leader, has become the first and only Nigerian leader outside government to publicly dissociate himself with any ethnicity based security arrangement enshrouded in ambiguity since thought of alternative security agenda by ethnic nationality started in Nigeria.
The DEFENDER gathered that failure of ethnic and religious leaders to timely condemn such groups led to why Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Islamic Movement I Nigeria, IMN, grew wings to become terrorist organisations in the country.
Known for his focus as apostle of peaceful co-existence among Nigerians of diverse backgrounds, the Sultan, who spoke at a Northern Security Meeting in Kaduna on Thursday, wondered how elders allowed the youths to launch an ethnic based security outfit such as ‘Shege Ka Kasa’.
He said, “I saw it on the television, and the media gave them attention. Now, the elders allowed these youths to go forward. So, the elites are our problems, the elders are our problems. If the elders don’t take the lead, the youth will do whatever they like and think they are right. You have to caution these youths by giving them good leadership.
“Now, they have launched their own security outfit I don’t know what they call it, ‘Shege Ka Fasa’, meaning what?
“So, I want to call on northern elders to caution them. Don’t allow these youths to take over leadership from you. You have to reach out to everybody no matter how low the person is. So, I think we need to take the bull by the horns and not allow the youths take over responsibility. I think we need to do that and much more.”
The Sultan asked the Northern states’ governors to tackle the security challenges in the region.
He also expressed concern over the 50,000 orphans in the region as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Sultan, who is Spiritual Leader of Nigeria’s over 100 million Muslims, said if nothing was done about the orphans, they would turn out to be worse than Boko Haram.
“Several recommendations have been made but are not implemented and as they remain unimplemented, we will continue to suffer the consequences.”
