Sultan: Integrate Traditional Rulers in War Against Terror
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has proposed an amendment to the Nigerian constitution for the integration traditional and religious institutions into Nigeria’s security architecture, especially for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.
Abubakar made this proposal yesterday in a lecture at the National Defence College (NDC) titled: "Traditional and Religious Institutions in Nigeria: Implications for National Security".
According to him, the traditional and religious institutions had made valuable contributions in the nation’s campaigns against disease containment and social vices, to the admiration of many in the past.
He noted that the two institutions’ wealth of experience could be useful in tackling emerging threats to national security, adding that the model had worked perfectly in some countries around the world.
"With the emerging security challenges facing the nation and the wealth of experience at the disposal of our traditional and religious institutions, it is time to do what is necessary to address the situation.
"We should, with all sincerity, endeavour to put in place the right constitutional framework to enable them address the daunting challenges.
"National Traditional Leaders Council had worked well in Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries with tangible results.
"The time may have come to revamp Nigeria’s security architecture and re-integrate the institutions into its matrix," he said.
Speaking further, the Sultan reminded the advisory and advocacy roles played by traditional and religious institutions in the nation’s efforts to instill social sanity were not sufficient enough to tackle the situation at hand.
He said that the key areas such as security monitoring and intelligence gathering had always been and would still be the integral part of the responsibilities of the nation’s traditional councils.
Abubakar urged the Federal and state governments to as matter of urgency, tackle the Almajiri issue in the northeast and northwest which he noted had become worrisome and a security threat.
The Sultan disclosed that "There are over 9 million children receiving education provided through the Almajiri system instead of through the formal system provided by governments across the regions".
He warned against allowing what he described as `petty political squabbles’ to derail the ongoing efforts to restore lasting peace to areas devastated by social strife and insurgency.
Earlier, the Commandant of NDC, Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, acknowledged the roles of the traditional and religious institutions in nation building.
Alade noted that "The acclaimed ideology of the Boko Haram insurgents had made it imperative for experts in the security sector to explore the roles of traditional and religious leaders in fostering peace".
He however, expressed optimism that the lecture would help in shaping the opinion of policy makers in the security sector particularly in integrating traditional and religious institutions in its programmes.