Why you cannot continue to muzzle Sowore’s voice, Sultan of Sokoto cautions Nigerian authorities
By OUR REPORTER
“Maybe one day you’ll be at this Aso Villa as president. You didn’t say amen,” the Sultan said pointedly, drawing laughter and further underlining his call for tolerance and inclusion of dissenting voices in governance.
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has publicly cautioned Nigerian authorities against silencing Omoyele Sowore and other outspoken critics, even as he openly raised the prospect of the activist one day becoming Nigeria’s president.
Speaking at an event of the National Peace Committee in Abuja, the multifaceted leader, who is President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), in his accommodative manner, addressed Sowore directly as “president Sowore”, stressing that the “p” was in small letters, and hinted at possibility of him eventually occupying Aso Rock as an elected leader one day.
The remarks came during a programme themed “A Whole-of-Society Approach to the Prevention of Violence and Conflict in Northern Nigeria”, held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, where the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Archbishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, headlined discussions on insecurity and governance.
In his welcome address, the Sultan suddenly turned to Sowore, publisher of SaharaReporters and two‑time presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), referencing the “incessant persecution” he has faced and warning that attempts to gag dissenting voices were dangerous for Nigeria’s democracy.
“So I want to thank the NSA, and I urge you, don’t look back. You have criticisms, you have critiques, let them talk, but listen. Those you would bring close to you, like President Sowore, bring him close,” the Sultan said, urging government officials to engage rather than repress.
“When I say President, I mean President with small p, not capital P. It’s only President that has has capital P. Say Sowore, come close, say your own mind, because the more you allow somebody to bring out what is in chest, the better for you and him,” he added, arguing that bottling up grievances only makes critics “go haywire.”
He revealed that he was “very surprised but also very happy” to see Sowore at the event and said he had hoped to hear him speak on what the government “should do or must do” to make him “a happier person,” noting that when Sowore is satisfied, “the people that follow him, that respect him, that believe in him, will also be happy.”
In a video footage from the meeting, Sowore is seen responding with appreciative gestures as the Sultan spoke, although the activist reportedly left the venue after the first session and was not listed among official speakers.
Urging authorities to allow robust criticism, the Sultan warned that “the more you tie somebody down, tie his neck, twist him, and he can’t talk, he will be saying ‘hmm, hmm’, you don’t know what he wants to say,” and appealed to Sowore to “feel free to come to me as you used to,” recalling their earlier interactions during Peace Committee engagements when Sowore ran for president.
“Maybe one day you’ll be at this Aso Villa as president. You didn’t say amen,” the Sultan said pointedly, drawing laughter and further underlining his call for tolerance and inclusion of dissenting voices in governance.
The intervention has triggered wide public debate, with many commentators describing it as a rare and significant endorsement of free expression from one of Nigeria’s most influential traditional and religious leaders.
Coming against the backdrop of past clampdowns and legal actions against Sowore, the Sultan’s statement is being viewed as a direct message to those in power that listening to critics is a sign of democratic maturity, not weakness.
