Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar II, said the country could solve its current challenges, “if its citizens come together as one”.
The Sultan made the remark in Jos yesterday, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Gyang Buba, in his palace.
He was in Jos to attend an annual general meeting of the alumni of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS.
He said: “All of us as Nigerian citizens have common problems, problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, extremism, insecurity, etc. We need to come together as a people to fight these common enemies for our individual and collective progress.
“No doubt, we will be able to solve these common problems if we are united as a people, we can’t overcome these challenges if we are divided and hence our unity is not negotiable.”
On the prevailing peace in Plateau state, the Sultan said, “My present in Jos to attend these NIPSS alumni has confirmed to me that peace has indeed returned to Jos. I therefore plead with citizens of Plateau state to make sure the current peace is sustained and make it become permanent.
In his words “ I call on people of the state to work hard to maintain this peace so that Plateau will be restored to his past glory of home of peace and tourism” said the Sultan
Speaking earlier , the Gbong Gwom Jos Da Gyang Buba said, “Nigeria has reach a stage when all of us as citizens of Nigeria should have a re-think. The current national challenges confronting the nation is not what the military alone can solve, it is not issue of the President of the country, it is an issue that should concern all of us as citizens of Nigeria.
“All of us must rise up to say no to our common challenges, work hard to redefine our collective destiny, we will fail in this battle if we are not united.
There is no total peace in Plateau state if other parts of the country are not at peace. For us to celebrate the prevailing peace on the Plateau, there should be peace all over the country”
He said, “Some of the skirmishes going on in the state is purely an act of criminality, criminals go about stealing cows here and there and we have urged the security agencies to root out these criminals for us to have total peace”
The Gbong Gwom expressed appreciation to the Sultan for the visit, saying it would go a long way in strengthening the bond of brotherhood among traditional rulers in the country.