Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, came down hard on the Northern youth who issued a quit notice to the Igbo.
He said he was never in support of the Arewa Youths’ October 1 ultimatum to the Igbo to leave the north.
The Youths have since withdrawn the notice following the Intervention of some well-meaning Nigerians, including governors.
The Islamic leader threw his weight behind restructuring, saying it does not mean dividing the nation but fixing imbalance in distribution of power and wealth.
The monarch said:” If anybody or group of persons plans negative attack on the Igbos it should be done to him first.”
Abubakar spoke in Sokoto when he received the World Igbo Union Leader, His Imperial Majesty (HIM) Sir Dr. Meshach Ahanta yesterday.
On calls to restructure the nation, he said it does not mean galvanizing or dividing Nigeria but simply means making adjustment here and there for equal accommodation to all and sundry in the country.
He said it was a purposeful agitation for pure equity and fair play religiously, socially and economically.
He however pointed out the agitation for pulling out by some people or calls for disintegration cannot solve any of the problems facing the country.
Abubakar rather said the way forward is round table dialogue, talking humanly, not carrying arms or dangerous weapons.
The royal father blamed the politicians for most of the problems bedeviling Nigerians, saying: “they come to you during campaigns, promise you heaven in your house, air conditions on all roads and milk entering your mouth hourly without any effort from you.
“As soon as they win, they zoom to Abuja and start planning or arranging comfort for themselves while some from rural areas move to state capital with careless abandonment of the voters.”
He called on the electorates to ensure their votes go to credible persons seeking political offices.
“That is the only way forward even as I condemn all about the quit order, the violent method of agitations for independence, kidnappings, vandalisation and hiding under religion to kill through the use of suicide bombing instruments, believing that it will lead one to heaven”.
