Influential Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammad Sa’ad Abubakar IV, on Monday, met at the Michael Okpara Square in Enugu, the venue of the grand reception in honour of of the 2015/2016 Nigerian Professional Football League Champions, the Enugu Rangers International Football club.
According to Vanguard, both religious leaders who were at the reception organised by Enugu state government, reportedly preached for religious tolerance across regions in Nigeria.
The sultan who first spoke during the event, said that Islam does not permit anybody to kill in the name of religion, maintaining that anybody who kills in the name of religion should be held as a criminal and treated as such.
He also said that President Muhammadu Buhari is misunderstood to be biased about some sections of the country, noting that his interaction with the President does not portray him as a religious or ethnic bigot.
The Sultan said: “If anybody commits any crime, he should be given his real name. It is not possible that Fulani who have lived here for so long can take up arms against their hosts.
“Branding them terrorists will not solve the problem. If you kill, you will be killed, anybody that kills in the name of religion is a criminal. The solution for us is to come together as one people. Any Fulani that kills will not go free. More Muslims have even died in this cause.”
In his speech, Fr. Mbaka said that with the Sultan’s speech, he has changed his perceptions of Nigeria and religious differences.
He said: “We were biased unnecessarily, we were fighting unnecessarily. Sultan has come to build a bridge. Your coming here has succeeded in quenching a looming war. Your coming represents peace and unity”.
