Sultan: Calls for Dambazau’s removal provocative

Written by Daily Trust Monday, 08 March 2010

ShareAgitations by some Christian elders for the removal of Army chief General Abdulrahman Dambazau could have provoked crisis in the country but for the conciliatory efforts of some leaders, Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has said.

Abubakar, who is President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and secretary of the council Abdulateef Adegbite said yesterday in Lagos that the calls for Dambazau’s removal by two Christian leaders had religious undertones and were capable of inflaming passions.

The Northern Christian Elders had asked Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Dambazau over the alleged deployment without permission of troops to the Abuja airport to receive President Umaru Yar’adua from his Saudi medical trip two weeks ago.

Speaking at the launching of the appeal fund for the Najah Joint Muslim Organisation (NAJOMO) mosque in Lagos, Abubakar said Muslim elders had never openly or secretly called for the sack of any top serving Christian government official for whatever reason. He said the statement by the northern Christian elders would have caused unrest in the country but for the quick intervention of some well meaning Nigerians.

“Let say me say here that the call by Northern Christian Elders for the removal of Chief Army Staff is wrong; and not in the interest of the country. The call would not do us any good other heating up the polity. Those making the call do not mean well for the country… Muslims have not been in this country to make such a call against their Christian brethren.

“Muslims and Christians should always live together in peace; none of these two great religions is synonymous with violence. Let us all watch our utterances so that we would not be provoking people of other faiths to violence,” he said.

Adegbite, who is the founder of NAJOMO group, said the Army chief should not be accused of any wrong doing in the deployment of troops to welcome the president. He said it was the prerogative of the military to decide on the size of troops adequate for the protection of the president or the acting president.

He said it would be wrong to question their professional judgment on such security matters. “The military should be kept out of it all,” he said.