The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, on Thursday said the Northern part of Nigeria has been turned to a killing field by armed bandits and other terrorists operating in the region.
The Sultan said this on Thursday at the opening of the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council.
Abubakar said the bandits are holding the region spellbound, especially the North West, and was particularly concerned that most of the killings are not reported or underreported.
He said at the meeting with then theme: “NIREC, Security Agencies and Peace in Nigeria,” that the elites were to be blamed for the worsening security situation in the North.
He said: “We need to sit down and talk about ourselves.
“We need to come up with possible solutions to the problems of Nigeria, particularly as regards rising insecurity.
“In this room, we are the minority, we are the elites and the elites are the problems of this country because we always want things to go our way.
“Evidently, Nigeria is faced with series of challenges, and if leaders doesn’t wake up, come together to understand the issues facing the country, the challenges might escalate and possibly consume all.
“Let’s not deceive ourselves, everything is not alright in our country, and I have spoken about repeatedly in different fora.
“To know that you have a problem means you have part of the solution.
“The earlier we rise to the occasion, come together, the better for us.
“We have to be careful in the way we handle, say and do things as religious leaders.
“We are not political leaders and, therefore, we have to be weary of what we say, where and how we say such things, because our followers will definitely believe in what we say and feel that it is from the Holy Koran or the Holy Bible.”
The President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, complained about the activities of kidnappers and other criminals on Nigerian roads.
Ayokunle said: “Travelling on Nigerian roads has become a very great risk now.
“Kidnappers are everywhere and they don’t only come out to kidnap but also to kill.
“So, you don’t know who the next victim is going to be.
“Why should these people be killing and hiding people in our territory without being challenged?
“Why should it be easy for them to hide people somewhere within the state and the security agencies in the state within few days or weeks will not be able to fish them out?”