LAGOS – The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Saturday urged Nigerians to live in peace with one another, put aside their cultural and religious differences for the overall development of the country.
The Sultan, who was represented by the Wazirin Katsina, Dr Sani Lugga, made the plea at the 4th National Convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) in Lagos.
The theme of the convention is `One Humanity Under God’.
“God created us with different colours, languages, cultures, races, countries, states and villages because He wants to appreciate one another in unity in spite of our differences.
“it is the God we worship, who brought us together as Nigerians, we must understand and respect one another, without which we can never attain peace.
“Without peace, we can never progress, develop or enjoy the fruits of this life; above all, without it we cannot serve our creator the way He ordained,’’ he said
The sultan said that both Islam and Christianity preached peace, and that people should stop pretending to be defending the religion through violence.
He explained that this was because the same religions made peace legal and made violence illegal.
According to him, the activities and teachings of Boko Haram is condemnable and should not be associated with Islam.
“I urge Nigerians to embrace peace, love, unity and respect for our different religion.
“We must continue to pray and re-examine ourselves to ensure that we do that which is right for a better Nigeria,’’ he said.
In his keynote address, the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Mustafa Pulat, stressed the need for Muslim leaders in the world to brainstorm and proffer solutions to the problems facing the Muslim world.
Pulat said that the rate at which some groups who claimed to be Muslims killed innocent people called for concern.
According to him, Islam preaches peace and not violence.
The ambassador said that Turkey would support Nigeria to combat terrorism and ensure that peace was restored.
In his remark, Mr Kamor Disu, Executive Chairman of MPAC, called for love and understanding among Muslims and Christians in the country for peaceful co-existence.
Disu urged youths not be to be used as tools for violence but agents of change, impact positively on lives, love and care for people unconditionally.
According to him, we are all one before God and He has called us to embrace unity, morals and sanctity of life.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MPAC is an incorporated public service agency working for the defence empowerment, promotion of individual liberties, religious, civil and political rights of Muslims.
It also operates on the core Islamic values of justice, mercy, human dignity, freedom, sanctity of human life and equality for all. (NAN)