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Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, has called on Nigerians to make it a habit to pray for their leaders, regardless of the difficulties they may face.
The Sultan delivered his appeal at the University of Ilorin on Thursday, where he spoke during a public lecture and participated in special book presentations dedicated to Professor Is’haq Oloyede, the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board. This occasion celebrated Oloyede’s milestone 70th birthday on Wednesday and his retirement from the University of Ilorin.
The books written in honour of Oloyede are entitled, “Islamics, Scholarship and Service to Society, A Festschrift for Is-haq Olarewaju Oloyede”, and “Glimpses into the Giant: A Tapestry of Tributes to Prof. Is-haq Oloyede at 70”.
The initiative was put together by the KU8+ Consortium of Universities in Kwara State, where the JAMB Registrar holds the position of director on the Board of Trustees.
The Sultan highlighted the importance of refraining from cursing leaders, urging Nigerians to redirect their efforts towards prayer for their leaders, regardless of the difficulties they may be facing.
“Don’t curse your leaders, no matter how bad they may be, but pray for them. Never talk ill of your leaders. Even if a leader is bad, pray for him
“If you pray for him/her, Almighty Allah can make him/her turn a new leaf and make him/her a better person that you will enjoy. Don’t condemn your leaders. No matter how bad they are, pray for them”, the Sultan, who is the head of the Muslim Community in the country, counselled.
The Monarch, in his announcement of the new title of Kuliya of Sokoto for Oloyede, conveyed his delight at every opportunity to visit the time-honored town of Ilorin.
The monarch, who poured encomium on Oloyede, added: “Whenever I come to Ilorin, I always feel so much happy. I came to Ilorin for the first time in 1984, about 40 years ago as an Army Captain. We thank Allah for Professor Oloyede’s life and pray Allah to protect him. Though, he’s retiring from the university, he will continue to be useful to Nigeria and humanity.
Read also: War Is Not Something To Wish For – Sultan To IPOB
According to him, he was happy that the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, had conferred the same title of Kuliya (which translates as a Judge) of Ilorin Emirate on a legal luminary, Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN).
While noting that Oloyede and Ali are close associates who have many things in common, the Sultan said: “I hereby confer on Oloyede the title of Kuliya of Sokoto. I will send the letter of appointment to him as soon as I return to Sokoto.”
He said that he was very pleased to make this programme, adding, “It’s very important. We thank Allah for Oloyede’s life. We’ll continue to ask him to do more.”
The minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who was the chairman of the event, also charged Nigerians to encourage their leaders to perform optimally and not to castigate all the time.
“I’m not saying that we don’t have problems, but when you begin to relegate or malign the country, I don’t know what you are portraying to the outside world. You may think you are doing them a favour, but at the end of the day, they will show you the way out.
