THE Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar III, has warned religious leaders to stop making utterances that incites insecurity in the country.
He spoke on Tuesday at the One day Dialogue on Democratic Stability and National Security, organized by the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI).
He said, “What is the role of religious leaders, we have all seen how religious leaders man-podiums, both Islamic and Christian, and say so many things at will, some are even politicians wearing cassocks or turbans.”
“Some were either paid to say things at their platform, or say things so that when the person ‘there’ hears you, he would call you and give you something. We have seen pastors on the podium talking about the outcome of elections, we have seen imams at preaching sessions telling the people what to do and what not to do,” he added.
He noted, “It is important for us as religious leaders to be wary of what we say, how we say it and where we say it. Our words are powerful, and that’s why we have to be careful as we say out on national security or governance”.
He decried that, “We have so many religious leaders, anybody who speaks a word of Arabic appoints himself sheik, who conferred this sheik-hood on you?”
“You would find somebody who have just read the bible, would start calling himself pastor, he has not gone to any college like so many people do,” he added.
He said the government must take a role in addressing this problem of the religious leaders on both sides.
He insisted that religious leaders cannot lie, “we have to say the truth, if I say that everything is okay in Nigeria then I’m not telling the truth, things are not right in Nigeria we all know that.”
“We have to admit that, if things were right in Nigeria we would not have all these security issues, kidnappings and killings everywhere,” he said.
