The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government for lack of coordination and the nation’s security agencies for not working for a common purpose.
As the 2019 elections drew nearer, the Sultan also warned that politicians might want to orchestrate the type of violent crisis that rocked Kaduna last week in which over 50 persons were killed by hooligans.
This, he said, would be done to scuttle the elections or to give the masterminds an advantage over their opponents.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the ‘National Dialogue for Democratic Stability’ organised by the Alumni Association of the National Institute, Abubakar said things were not right with the country, citing the increased level of crime and criminality across the federation.
The Sultan said, “I cannot say things are right with Nigeria; things are not right with Nigeria. We all know that and that’s why we have these security issues, kidnappings, killings, everywhere, everywhere you find a community.
“One of the saddest things that have happened in the last five days is the killing in Kaduna. If you know how these killings started, you would feel so bad. It is not a religious crisis; it was caused by people who don’t have jobs, they are hungry, they want to lead a good life.
“You would find that all that took place was the looting of shops, that’s all, nothing more. There was no burning of churches and mosques. People were going about killing people, breaking cars.
“As we inch closer to elections, we are going to get worse scenarios because politicians would definitely use it to do whatever they want, to scuttle elections or to make sure they are at an advantaged position”
No coordination in government
Citing the Interfaith Initiative for Peace conference held in Abuja last week which was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the Sultan complained that its outcomes had not been implemented.
He also came hard on the current administration, stating that there was no coordination in the government, noting that the security agencies also were not working for a common purpose.
He lamented that there was little cooperation among the heads of the security outfits.
Abubakar said, “Who coordinates? Is it the office of the SGF (Secretary to Government of the Federation)? Is it the NSA (National Security Adviser) who coordinates national security? Is he really coordinating national security? That’s a big question we need to ask too.”
“There is a disjoint between the security agencies’ leadership and also the followers. The intelligence agencies are also working at different levels, so we continue to have this problem.