Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Monday held a closed-door meeting with Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i on the killings in Southern Kaduna.
The meeting held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in the state capital. The Sultan did not say much after the meeting, saying: “I came to visit my brother.”
But El-Rufa’i, spoke to reporters, said the Sultan was in Kaduna to advise and guide him on how to guarantee lasting peace in Southern Kaduna.
The governor said the famous king welcomed the Peace and Reconciliation Summit, which held at Zangon Kataf last Saturday, where Atyap, Hausa and Fulani communities resolved to live in peace.
He noted that the major religions “teach us to love for others what we love for ourselves. Therefore, we are happy with what the Chief of Atyap started. May God reward him for inviting all the ethnic groups under his chiefdom to agree to live in peace and harmony”.
El-Rufai prayed that the Sultan’s visit would “be the beginning of lasting peace in Southern Kaduna”.
The governor said Abubakar advised, guided him and expressed “support for our efforts at bringing peace to Kaduna State”.
He recalled that his relationship with the Sultan started when he was a pupil at Barewa College, adding: “He knew me since I was 12 years old and he used to advise us on what we needed to do and how achieve peace and progress.”
El-Rufai said the Sultan expressed happiness that various religious and ethnic groups had suggested ways to promote peace in the state.
“The Sultan also prayed to God to bring peace, not only in Kaduna State but across Nigeria, especially the insecurity bedeviling northern Nigeria,” he added.
