Sultan urges politicians to imbibe spirit of sportsmanship ...Abuja Imam wants prayers for success of 2007 polls
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, on Saturday in Sokoto called on politicians in the country to imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship, as Nigeria marches toward another civilian to civilian transition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, the Sultan made the call in his Sallah message to Nigerians .
The message was read on his behalf by the Wazirin Sokoto, Alhaji Usman Junaidu, as the sultan was in Saudi Arabia, as the head of the federal government’s delegation as well as the Amirul Hajj.
The Sultan said, Abubakar III said, the politicians should also consider that, there must be only winner in any contest . He, therefore, called on the nation’s politicians to ‘’ always be good losers and magnanimous winners ,’ ’adding that, this is the only way the socio-economic development of the country would be adequately guaranteed.
Similarly, Alhaji Abubakar III stressed the need by Nigerians to come out en masse and collect new voter cards, as well as revalidate their old ones.
‘’ It is only with the voter cards that,we can elect the people of our choice, who will better our lives,’’,the Monarch, averred, appealing that,Nigerians should also come out en masse during the actual voting in 2007.
The Sultan also admonished Nigerians to continue to pray for peace and unity to be sustained in the nation, urging’’ we should always fear God and shun all acts capable of breaching the peace.’’
In a similar vien, the Deputy Chief Imam of Abuja National Mosque, Alhaji Abdulsalam Muhammad, has urged Nigerians to pray for the success of the 2007 general elections.
He said in his sermon at the Eid-el-Kabir prayers Saturday that the peaceful conduct of the polls was important for the country's development.
``All of us need to pray for peaceful transition next year, so that we can elect new leaders who will lead our country in the right direction," he added.
Muhammad prayed for the safe return of pilgrims from Saudi Arabia, and urged the people to continue to pray for government at all levels, so that they could improve on the welfare of the citizens.
He urged Nigerians to live in peace with their neighbours, adding that God knew why he located people of various tribes and cultures in the country.
Muhammad advised the Muslim Ummah to follow the foot steps of Prophet Mohammed, ``who volunteered to sacrifice his son before God sent him a ram as substitute''.
Maj. Shehu Mustapha, the Chief Imam of the Mogadishu Barracks, in his sermon, said no amount of sacrifice was too much for Nigerians to make for the country's peace and progress.