Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Monday held a meeting with Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna.
Though the Sultan did not make any comment after the meeting, he simply responded to journalists’ inquiries by saying: ‘I came to visit my brother.’
Governor El-Rufai, who spoke to journalists after the meeting, said the Sultan was in Kaduna to advise and guide him on how to ensure lasting peace in Southern Kaduna.
He said that the concern of his administration has always been to see people living together in peace.
The Governor said he welcomed the Peace and Reconciliation Summit which held at Zangon Kataf on Saturday, where the Atyap, Hausa and Fulani communities resolved to live in peace.
He noted that the major religions ‘teach us to love for others what we love for ourselves. Therefore, we are happy with what the Chief of Atyap started. May God reward him for inviting all the ethnic groups under his chiefdom, to agree to live in peace and harmony.’
The governor prayed ‘that let it be the beginning of lasting peace in southern Kaduna.’
El-Rufai disclosed that the Sultan came to advise and guide him as well as to ‘express his support for our efforts at bringing peace to Kaduna State.’
The Governor said that his relationship with the Sultan started when he was a student at Barewa College, adding that ‘he knew me since I was 12-years-old and he used to advise us on what we needed to do and how to achieve peace and progress.’
According to El-Rufai, the Sultan expressed happiness that various religious and ethnic groups have suggested measures on how to promote peace in Kaduna State.
‘The Sultan also prayed to God to bring peace in not only in Kaduna state but Nigeria in general, especially the insecurity bedevilling Northern Nigeria,’ he added.
