Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III yesterday led team of other prominent Moslems to President Goodluck Jonathan in order to protest what they termed has the the alleged marginalisation in the number of Muslim delegates at the ongoing National Conference (CONFAB).
Others on the protest team include Deputy President of NSCIA and Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Garbai; the former Head of Service, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais and others.
Although the protest in respect of the alleged minimal representation of Moslems as against the Christian majority took place behind closed doors, the Sultan who was the last to leave Presidential Villa, declined to speak to State House Correspondents who accosted him with questions.
President Jonathan reiterated the commitment of his administration to be fair and just to all Nigerians, irrespective of religious and ethnic affiliation.
While the Sultan swiftly moved into his waiting car and zoomed off, the Secretary General of the NSCIA, Alhaji Ishaq Oloyede had earlier volunteered to field few questions, saying that they “believe that it is proper to protest.”
Prior to yesterday’s protest led by the Sultan, there had been exchange of words between the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and a Moslem Organisation under the aegis of Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI), which had alleged that Christian delegates who are more in number at the confab had hijacked the proceedings.
According to the NSCIA Secretary General, “What we came to discuss with the President is to consult with Mr. President that we are happy we consulted with him, and he has given us reasons to re-assure the Muslims that Muslims in Nigeria are not deliberately marginalised and he has asked us to convey the feelings of the government, the genuineness of the government, the fairness of the government to the entire populace.
“That if there are issues that are not as they ought to be, they were not definitely deliberate and we want to believe that Mr. President told us his mind but we also want to believe that it is proper to protest. It is also proper to assume that a leader will always be just even if there are mistakes thereafter.
“We just felt that we must convey the feelings of the Muslims in Nigeria to Mr. President and he has given us his words to re-assure the Muslims community that he is a genuine and committed Christian who will not be unjust to others even.”
On what were those feelings, he said: “Those feelings, may be because you are not a Muslim. If you are a Muslim you will know the feelings of the Muslims presently about the composition of the National Conference.”