WHEN THE SULTAN DOESN’T CARE BY ABBAS IBN MUHAMMED

On July 21, 2016, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubabar, was at the palace of the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba.

The Sultan is the President-General of the two apex Muslim organizations in Nigeria- the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI).

The Sultan was at the Berom paramount ruler’s palace to condole him over the death of the chief of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Saf Ron Kulere Lazarus Agai.

The Muslim leader, in an emotionally-laden voice, said: “The Federal Government should find the killers and bring them to justice to prevent further attacks on rulers and innocent people.

“The perpetrators of this act, no matter how highly placed, must be arrested and prosecuted because every Nigerian has the right to life, and the government has the responsibility to protect its citizens from such untimely death.”

Fast forward to August 14, 2021. On that fateful day, five 18-seater buses loaded with Muslim faithfuls returning from an Islamic New Year event organized by the famous Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, in Bauchi state, were brutally attacked on broad daylight.

In the wake of the attack, about 30 innocent travellers were viciously hacked to death, more than that number missing.

Ethnic militia from Irigwe tribe had ambushed the travellers who were just passing through Rukuba road in Jos, Plateau State, to their destination in Ondo state.

About 30 of the bodies were retrieved and buried in Jos. Disturbing footage of the ambush and gory massacre of the travellers were shared online by the ecstatic assailants.

Surprisingly, the Sultan, who in the past personally led a delegation to Gbong Gwom Jos over the killing of one person – the chief of Kulere- maintained an ungodly silence. It took him over 24 hours to cause the release of a terse statement, signed by a low-grade staff of the NSCIA.

In the statement signed by one Zubairu Usman- Ugwu, the Sultan only warned against reprisals and called for calm.

He said: “While affirming the statements of their Excellencies, the Governors of Plateau and Ondo States that it was a case of mistaken identity and not particularly intended for the Muslims, the Council appeals to all Muslims to be calm and nobody should take laws into his or her hands.”

The import of this is that, the lives of the over 30 innocent travellers is not worth the time of the ‘leader of Nigerian Muslims’ to affirm his signature on the empty statement, nor worth a personal condolence visit to the families of the victims or their religious leader, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi.

The man only urged restraints – who knows if it was not even at the behest of the Plateau State Governor, who failed to protect the innocent travellers? Besides, they are not as valuable as the Kulere chief that he personally visited Jos to commiserate with the state government and Gbong Gwom Jos.

Another factor for the Sultan’s indifference may be his open hatred for Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi – the Islamic scholar whose only offence was calling out the Sultan for his embarrassing mishandling of the affairs of Muslims such as moon sighting for Ramadan and Sallah festivities. It was apparent that the Sultan despised the revered Sheikh for such daring moves. Thus, the scholar doesn’t deserve his condolences, less a visit.

If the Muslim Ummah are angry that the Sultan doesn’t bother about their affairs, they are wrong. The man cherry picks what he speaks about or who and where he visits. All these are determined by economic factors. The man led a delegation to Jos to meet Gbong Gwom Jos, and invariably Governor Simon Lalong. So, there should be money for fueling and other logistics for him. There is no such thing if he visits the victims’ families or their leader, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi.

On January 16, 2021, when the leader of Yoruba Nation agitation, Sunday Adeyemo Igboho, gave one week notice to Fulani community in Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government area of Oyo state, many thought the Sultan would rise to the defence of the Fulani who are Muslims. They were wrong.

One week later, specifically on January 23, 2021, after the expiration of the quit notice, Igboho led army of thugs to attack the palace of Sarkin Fulani, Alhaji Salihu Kadiri, in Igangan, razing down the palace and dozen houses, killing at least seven people. There was grave yard silence from the Sultanate.

The Sultan maintained a sealed lips on June 17, 2021, when Igboho again issued a fresh eviction notice, directing all Fulani in Southwest to leave, adding that “We want all Fulani on Yoruba land to leave. I, myself, will monitor compliance to the eviction notice.”

On the other hand, on July 11, 2021, after DSS officials raided Igboho’s residence in Ibadan, arresting 13 armed thugs and recovering arms caches after fierce gun battle, 14 Yoruba traditional rulers from Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Kwara and Kogi states, condemned the DSS’ action and demanded the immediate release of 13 armed thugs. That is to show how traditional rulers ‘identify’ with their subjects. But the Sultan doesn’t know that gesture. He never identifies with his people who are being persecuted, not to talk of when they are on the wrong side of the law like the Yoruba monarchs did to Igboho.

The Sultan never identifies with his people in need. On May 30, 2021, bandits attacked Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Tegina, Rafi local government area of Niger State, and kidnapped 136 pupils. Over 80 days on, the poor kids are still in captivity, and their issue has never merited any mention in the Sultan’s public schedules and appearances.

On June 17, 2021, bandits attacked the Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, and kidnapped at least 102 students from their dormitories. More than 70 days after the students’ abduction, and nearly 30 days after the bandits holding the schoolgirls told the distraught parents of the students that they have married off the young girls to criminals, there is no single word from the Sultan.

Close observers of the Sultan, however, were never surprised by his reckless attitude towards the same people he claims to be leading.

At least 39 local government areas across six states are now being run by bandit kingpins, with each of them maintaining a “territory” or “kingdom” where they carry out their activities undisturbed. These states are Sokoto, Katsina, Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kaduna. These states are the Sultan’s immediate constituency. He never cares. It is not his problem.

Bandits have killed no fewer than 283 Nigerians in June 2021 alone, according to a tally by the Civic Media Lab, a nonprofit organization based in Lagos. All these deaths were done in northwest Nigeria, the Sultan’s backyard.

On August 23 last year, the international human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), said bandits had killed 1,126 villagers in Nigeria between January and June 2020.

The report said the killings were perpetrated in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara states. As expected, there is not a single word on it from him.

On July 17, 2021, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah told the United States Congress that bandits are killing Christians because of their faith. Many have expected a strong- worded rebuttal from the Sultanate, to at least put the record straight. But that was not to be because the Sultan is in cahoots with Mr Kukah in so many things. The cleric leads him to oil-rich governors for crumbs. This claim by Bishop Kukah is pregnant with crude and lethal mischief. For the record, all the victims in the epicenters of banditry are overwhelmingly Muslims. And bandits maul them on hourly basis. Even Boko Haram, their victims are majorly Muslims. Also, the insurgents who are being killed by our troops on daily basis are ‘Muslims.’ So, where is Kukah getting his facts? From the Sultan?

The Sultan has apparently abandoned his mandate to that of politicking. He clutches on slightest opportunity to launch unprovoked attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari. On August 21, 2021, the Sultan went berserk in Kano, saying that Kano roads are horrible. He said the duration of the apparently short distance from Kano metropolis to Bichi appears to have parallelled the hours it took him to travel from Sokoto to Kano due to the nature of bad roads in Kano state. What a lie.

It is an open secret that the same Sultan has never complain about anything that has to do with Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal- his benefactor. The Sultan has never even pretend to blame Tambuwal even though not fewer than seven local government areas in Sokoto state are under bandits’ control. He never asks Tambuwal to sit up when preventable diseases like cholera is killing hundreds in the state. He never bothers to remind Tambuwal that getting pipe-borne water in Sokoto is more difficult than squeezing water from the Rock of Gibraltar. The Sultan should be the last person to speak about bad roads- because the road leading to his palace in Sokoto is not any better from the one he plied to from Kano to Bichi.