Date: 2017-01-18

Sultan of Sokoto and President, Jama'at Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar 111, yesterday declared that there was a growing animosity between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country.

He also disclosed that the Boko Haram insurgents have killed more Muslims than non-Muslims since the criminality started, declaring the members of the dreaded group would go to hell fire.

The Sultan made the declaration at the opening of a two-day international conference on "Security and Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria," holding in Ilorin, Kwara state. The conference is organised by the Kwara state government through the state's Arabic Education Board.

"We have problems in this country. Let's not deceive ourselves, there is friction between Muslims and non-Muslims," he said. According to the Sultan, the "foundation of our problem is injustice, which leads to bad governance. We have been having problems in Nigeria because of impunity.

"The small percentage of criminals in our midst should, however, not be used to label all of us criminals. With proper understanding, we can overcome our problems. God did not make a mistake when he created us as Muslims and Christians and made us people of Nigeria."

The monarch, who decried killing of innocent people in the name of religion, urged religious leaders to stop inciting people against one another through their preaching.

"Among these two main religions there is no where I found that killing of innocent people are allowed. What the terrorists are doing is anti-Islam and they (those killing innocent people in the name of Jihad) are going straight to hell for committing murder. We know what Islam says we should do and not do. We should understand the doctrine of our religion.

"We should move closer to one another to understand ourselves better. The number of Muslims killed by Boko Haram far outweighs that of Christians. Therefore, the Boko Haram cannot lay claim to being Muslims. In Islam, life is sacred."

On the southern Kaduna crisis, the Sultan expressed optimism that an enduring solution would be found at a meeting of governors forum slated for Thursday.

Commending the Kwara state government for organising the conference, the Sultan urged Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to reach out to President Muhammadu Buhari and other governors on the outcome of the conference.

He further challenged participants "to come out with a model that will be useful to all parts of the country in crisis prevention and management." Declaring the conference open, Governor Ahmed noted that "Nigeria is facing many security challenges."

He said the conference was designed to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing the country in all fronts, adding that the youth who formed the bulk of the nation's population were disenchanted.

The governor said the nation was sitting on a time-bomb waiting to explode if the problem of youth unemployment was not tackled, stressing that there was the need for stakeholders to address poverty as a way of reducing youth restiveness, economic and security problems.