The Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar III, Sa’adu Abubakar has told the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to occupy his mind with the thought of winning the next election, but on how to first develop the country and the next generation.
The Sultan made the remark in Abuja on Saturday at an event where the former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta delivered an inaugural lecture titled, “Deepening Democracy for Integration and Development”.
According to the monarch, “As political leaders, you will need not only to think of the next election but also, and more importantly, think of the next generation.
“I leave you with these thoughts and pray for God’s guidance, wisdom, and patience for leaders to take our country to the highest height. And we have peace and stability in our great country Nigeria,” he added.
Earlier, Kenyatta had also advised Tinubu to reach out to those who may feel aggrieved over his emergence, so as to build a stronger nation.
According to him, Tinubu must transcend from tactical politics and adopt the role of a vision bearer.
He stressed that the President-elect must lead and unite all citizens, regardless of whether or not they supported him during the election.
Kenyatta said, “The contest is now over, and the hard work of building a prosperous and unified Nigeria now begins. Upon assuming the office of president, you would be wise to transcend from the tactical politics of an election and assume your role as Nigeria’s vision bearer. This will demand a complete overhaul of the adversarial mindset that we as politicians are conditioned to embrace during the electoral process.
“As President, you must learn very quickly to lead those who do not love you and those who love you with equal passion and commitment because you are now the father of all.
“Your Excellency, when countries are in election mode, the people and their leaders are more divided than ever, and boxed into their various sectarian and partisan interests.
“However, when you are the head of state, and you take command of the country’s armed forces, you become the embodiment of the total of the many different ethnic groups and religions that make up your country, and you become the symbol of unity. Indeed, you become the face of Nigeria,” he remarked.
The former president of Kenya encouraged Tinubu to surround himself with voices that challenge his own, adding that there is a need to overcome negative ethnicity, religious discrimination, and corruption in the country.
He maintained, “I encourage you, to surround yourself with the voices of those who will counterbalance the hardliners that feel entitled to a piece of your office, you will lose nothing and gain everything by reaching out across the political, ethnic, and religious lines.
“To those who may feel aggrieved by your victory in one way or another, please allow them to exhale and be part of your vision for a greater Nigeria.
“It is my hope and my prayer that the lessons from across the continent will give you the resolve to walk the difficult path of overcoming those three enemies.
“I started by mentioning the three enemies of nationhood negative ethnicity, religious discrimination, and corruption. As your fellow African, I look forward to a Nigeria that emerges from this transition, ready to flex and fight for its rightful place on the global stage with both hands at the ready”.
On his part, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Rt. Reverend Mathew Kukah, said no country, business, family, or organisation can survive without knowing how to manage diversity.
He called on the incoming administration to ensure that different ethnic groups and identities in the country are united.
Kukah said Nigerians are suffering from various levels of multi-dimensional poverty, saying that poverty doesn’t discriminate between religions, tribes, and other identities
“I will also end by saying right now, 133 million Nigerians are suffering from various levels of multi-dimensional poverty.
“I have not put up the light and seen the part where Muslims are living that they have light, while others do not. I have not seen the part of the country where Muslims are eating and the rest of us are not. So we must come to terms with the fact that we are not bleeding. We are not suffering because we are Christians or Muslims, but we are in a country that is malfunctioning. How to make that country work, for the rich, for the poor, for the aged, and everybody is a challenge.
“It is not is not a challenge that everybody can win but I think it’s a challenge that a government that appreciates it doesn’t have all the answers, must come to terms with the fact that there is a way of looking for her answers.
“I would like to end by saying and I’ve made the point very clearly, in the struggle with the problems of Nigeria, I remain exceptionally optimistic. I travelled the world. People say to me, well, where do you find this courage to say that Nigeria is working? Okay, it may not be working, but this is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I am not being flippant.
“When I went to the United States of America to study, I preached in a church but the parish priest said to me, listen to me, you speak with such eloquence and I like you, we will get you a green card, you can settle here in America. I looked at him, and I said, you know, this God is a wonderful God. You are giving me a Green Card and my passport is Green.
“So, the young Nigerians leaving our country, I always say to them, No, I’m not worried. Let them go. It’s for the good of the country,” Kukah observed.
He added, “The challenge for us as Africans is to think the way the Asians have thought that you can go to Europe, you can go to America with a purpose. But the purpose of course means coming back to develop your country, but it also means that the country must create an environment in which you can feel confident to come and present the gift that God has given you.”
The cleric also urged Tinubu to make the country liveable and believable for Nigerians to contribute their quota to the development of the country.
He narrated, “I have two young men in America who just finished a prestigious university, I say when are you coming home? They say Bishop coming home to do what? We do not have an uncle who is a senator, we don’t have anybody so coming to Nigeria to do what?
“Vice President-elect, the challenge for you is to make this country believable, livable, credible so that all of us together can serve and build a great nation”.