Tinubu, Muslim media group hail Sultan of Sokoto at 20 years on throne
- President Tinubu praised the Sultan as a moral authority and voice of moderation in a personally signed letter.
- The Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria also congratulated the monarch on two decades of peace advocacy.
- Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III became the 20th Sultan of Sokoto on November 2, 2006.
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, as the monarch marks 20 years on the throne today, November 2.
In a letter he signed himself, the President called the Sultan a moral authority, a bridge between faiths and a steady counsellor to Nigerian leaders across generations, according to a report by Punch.
"You have been more than a traditional ruler," Tinubu wrote, praising the Sultan's two decades of leadership for preserving and enriching the Sokoto Caliphate.
The President also credited the monarch with promoting harmony between Christians and Muslims in his role as Co-Chairman of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, and with speaking up for girl-child education, farmers and the poor.
Tinubu said he valued his personal friendship with the Sultan, adding that the monarch's counsel had been "honest, patriotic and always in Nigeria's best interest."
Why the milestone matters
The Sultan is President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the country's highest Islamic religious body, and holds spiritual authority over millions of Muslims nationwide.
Over the past 20 years he has been a central voice for peace in some of Nigeria's most delicate conflicts, including clashes between herders and farmers, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and ethno-religious tensions in the Middle Belt.
The Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) also congratulated the Sultan in a statement signed by its National President, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, on Sunday.
The group, which names the Sultan as its Grand Patron, said his messages of peace and unity had reassured Nigerians during difficult periods and strengthened national cohesion. It prayed for his continued health, wisdom and strength.
Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III became the 20th Sultan on November 2, 2006, after the death of his predecessor, Muhammadu Maccido. Maccido was among the 96 people killed when ADC Airlines Flight 053 crashed near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on October 29, 2006.
A graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, the Sultan was commissioned into the Nigerian Army in 1974 and retired as a Brigadier-General in December 2006 after nearly three decades of service, including United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad.
The Sokoto Caliphate was founded in 1804 by Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio and remains the most significant Islamic traditional institution in sub-Saharan Africa.