The Sultan of Sokoto and President General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Tuesday, urged Nigerians to call a spade a spade by appropriately calling bandits their right name which is simply terrorists.
Sultan, who spoke when he received the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt- Gen Faruk Yahaya, in his palace, insisted that using the term banditry is an indication of been soft on the criminal elements.
The revered royal father said, “Calling these criminals bandits is being soft on them. They are not bandits, they are terrorist. And I believe the more we call them by their right name the better for all of us”.
The respected Islamic cum religious leader while warning that terrorism has taken a new turn in Nigeria, added that, “We all generally know how bad things are now”.
Sultan, who said though he had retired from the Nigerian Army but not tired of offering meaningful advice, added that the thrust of traditional responsibility has placed him in a vantage point to offer meaningful advice to all.
He said, “We are retired from the Army but not tired because we are in a very more serious position now to talk to everybody
“We will never get tired of receiving you and other senior officers of the country, because the more we see you, the more people believe and have confidence that something good is happening to the country”.
Noting that they are prayer warriors, Sultan said, “We don’t carry gun, but our Quaran to pray for peace and stability in our country”.
“And we will continue to pray for you and Almighty Allah will hear our cries. We will never allow terrorists to have their ways in Nigeria. The way of the terrorist is to destabilize your normal way of life”.
Giving advice to the Nigerian security to always ensure adequate care and support to families of officers who died in the line of service, Sultan affirmed that doing so will help boost confidence of those in service.
The Sultan, who assured that the traditional rulers will continue to give the Nigerian security agencies all the very best advice, said, “The security agencies in Nigeria are doing their best. But they needed to be encouraged.
“For me, if all the soldiers in the Nigerian Army belong to the armoured I would have been happier”.
In his encouragement to the COAS, Sultan said, “We are not tired by the happenings. We pray that your tenure will be turning point in bringing to an end the numerous security challenges across the country”.
Speaking earlier, the COAS said he was in the palace to pay Sallah homage despite being on operation visit to North West.
To the Sultan, the COAS said, “I can only continue to thank his Eminence for his support and guidance and solicit for the continued support. I want to publicly acknowledge your guidance on how we can always improve on our activities.
“You have always been there for me in all my career. I also want to appreciate your efforts in improving security across Nigeria and the globe”.
Giving reasons for his visiting Sokoto, the COAS said the Nigerian Army is going to the Eastern senatorial axis of the state for the ground breaking ceremony of an operational based barrack while the land and its documents were given to the Nigerian Army by Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal within one week after necessary request from the state government.
