Cross Udo, Sokoto
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Sokoto told the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar 111 that with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Nigeria is in a safe hand.
Buhari stated this when he led the APC presidential campaign team on a courtesy call to the Sultan.
He told the Sultan that the campaign team was at the palace to solicit his continuous support and that he chose to join the campaign train of Asiwaju Tinubu for three reasons.
The President said he and Tinubu have been together as friends for the last 20 years and the fact that he performed wonderfully well when he was Governor of Lagos State.
“The third one is that Tinubu won my party’s presidential primary in a free, fair, and credible process and therefore, he is the legitimate candidate of my party,” Buhari said.
He appealed to Sultan to support Tinubu, who Sultan called; “The Jagaban of the World.”
He said, “We (him and Tinubu) have been together for more than 20 years. I know him as a very committed Nigerian. I can attest to his qualities as a leader and I can assure you with him Nigeria will remain in safe hands. I came to solicit your support for our candidate and I know you will continue to support us.”
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*I’m here to seek your blessing, endorsement, Tinubu tells Sultan
Speaking earlier, the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu told the Sultan that he was in the race to win.
He said, “It is a great honour to be here particularly in the company of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to visit the caliphate. You already know, but I must repeat, this is a visit to introduce me as the presidential candidate of my party, the APC.
“We recognise you don’t play politics, but we have to show our respect when we come to town for the campaign. We noted one thing on our way to the palace. The enthusiasm of our people. We are grateful for the peace and co-existence of individuals and your accommodation of various people living in Sokoto.
“We want to win the election and since that is what we come for, we seek your blessing and endorsement. It is something you cannot reject because Mr. President is here.”
*We pray to God to select the most suitable leader, replies Sultan
Responding, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III expressed disgust at those who are in the habit of abusing and cursing leaders because, to them, such leaders are not performing to their satisfaction.
He said that cursing leaders amount to cursing the country and the system, saying that such people only succeed in complicating matters for the country.
The Sultan said that the more one prays for the leaders, the more God would help such leaders to do better for the good of all.
“If you pray for leaders, God may answer you and intervene to make them perform better for the benefit of all. But if you curse them, God may also answer you by intervening to make them weak and confused, also for the hardship on the people. We all suffer for the consequences of what we say about our leaders,” the Sultan said.
Sultan Sa’ad said that he had always been praying to God to help President Buhari to do better for the country, adding that even after he leaves office, he would continue to pray for him.
The Sultan said that as a traditional ruler, he cannot openly take sides in the political contest due to take place shortly, saying that the only thing he would continue to do is to pray to God to give the country the best president that would elevate Nigeria to greater height and bring about peace, security and good standard of living for the people of the country.
“Our concern is peace, security, stability, and development of the country in all ramifications. That is why we don’t openly support any candidate, believing that God has already known who the leader we are praying to have, is.”
