👤 By Danjuma Aliyu

Everything is not okay in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto declared today.

While receiving a lists of Catholic bishops of Nigeria at his palace in Sokoto, the Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III waded into the political fray, and gave an honest opinion on the recent defection of prominent members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

“Politics is a choice, like religion, therefore, let’s not fight each other because of defection,” he said.

He added: “We must tell ourselves the truth and speak the truth. Everything is not okay in Nigeria. Let’s stop hiding under religion, ethnicity or region. I know we have problems in Nigeria. Let’s not deceive ourselves.”

The sultan, the most prominent traditional ruler in northern Nigeria who noted that the country is facing some challenges, encouraged for people of all faith to work together.

He said: “But we should collectively try and overcome them. As leaders, we must try and work for peace. There is no problem in this world that defies solution unless we are not honest. If not, we will overcome the problems.”

The 20th Sultan of Sokoto, the titular ruler of Sokoto who is the current president-general of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs explained that despite the challenges, spiritual leaders must educate their followers “that we belong to one God Almighty but choose to worship God in different ways.

“There is no fight between Christianity and Islam, but maybe disagreement between Muslims and Christians. But we must try and fish out extremists in our midst. Though, you cannot completely fish out bad eggs from the society, we should continue doing our part to ensure a peaceful country.”