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Sultan cautions against branding any ethnic group as criminals

By Oluwaseun Akingboye (Akure) and Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze (Abuja)
10 September 2019   |   3:42 am
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has advised Nigerians who tag some ethnic groups in the country as criminals to desist from doing so as “there are criminals in every ethnic group.

[FILE PHOTO] Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III

Adesina bemoans use of fake news to cause division
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has advised Nigerians who tag some ethnic groups in the country as criminals to desist from doing so as “there are criminals in every ethnic group.”He stated this yesterday at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, while delivering the 2019 edition of the Ulefunta Festival Lecture titled, “Our Diversity, A Divine Gift And Blessing Untapped: Surmounting The Challenges Of The Management Of Diversity.”

Abubakar also noted that Nigeria was going through trying times in terms of security and other challenges of nationhood.He cited activities of herdsmen in the North as having attracted negative comments from all over the country and beyond with some analysts claiming that the Fulani ethnic group was largely responsible for the crimes.

The Sultan stressed this at a gala night held in his honour by the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, adding that he had been trying to avoid corruption, among other vices, in his choice of giving chieftaincy titles to people in his emirate.While denouncing what he described as the criminalisation of ethnicity among Nigerians, the Sultan said this would not bear anyone in the country any good, just as he advocated that the nation should avoid it.

Speaking, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, said: “Religion should not divide us,” urging Nigerians to look beyond their religious differences and prioritise the unity of Nigeria.

Receiving the Sultan at the Governor’s Office, Aladelusi expressed his satisfaction over a meeting the Sultan held with religious in the state leaders under the auspices of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council on the need to shun religious crisis.

Meanwhile, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina yesterday lamented that Nigerians were using fake news to undermine the country, cause division, bitterness and malice.

“If we continue with the trend, we will get at country that is terrible where everybody wants to run away from,” he warned.He stated this at the first edition of Naija Youth Talk titled, “The Nigeria We Want” organised by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to mark the 2019 International Literacy Day in Abuja.

Adesina noted that Nigeria have many fault lines like ethnicity, religion and language differences, adding that the country in its past and present state may be unlovable, “but it remains our only country.”

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