The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar has called on Nigerians to embrace generosity by sharing their wealth with the less privileged and care for those in need of help.

The Sultan who spoke during the 2024 Fourth Quarter meeting of the Nigerian Inter-religious Council (NIREC) with the theme “Our Natural Resources and Insecurity in Nigeria,” also urged Nigerians to keep contributing to the peace and stability of Nigeria.

Co-Chairman of NIREC, the Sultan who noted that Nigerians were passing through difficult times, called out wealthy Nigerians to learn how to be generous and desist from hoarding material possessions which he reminded everyone were temporary.

According to him, “I believe we still have a lot to contribute to the peace and stability of our great country. We know the pain everybody is going through.

“We know it’s not easy. But Almighty Allah will make things easy, because no matter what hardship anybody is going through, peace will come, things will come, and things will be better. Let’s continue chanting our vows and keep on praying, and believing that the Almighty, who brought us into the world, will never allow us to suffer.

“What we need to do, is go back to God, back to our religious worship places, pray for our leaders, pray for our country, and be good. Because you can pray.

“Let’s see what we can do to help the needy. This is December, the last month of the year. We pray, Almighty Allah, to guide us aright and bring peace and stability to our great country, Nigeria.

“If you see anybody suffering, be patient with them. We have to change our habits, we have to change our style, we have to change all the bad things in our head, in our mind, and continue to believe that yes, Almighty Allah is never wrong in bringing us together and he does what he wants to, at what time he wants to and to everybody, to anybody, at the time he wants.

“If we have one million bags of rice, we can only eat a few grains at a time. Share with the people that you think they need. Don’t hoard everything. No matter the amount of money you have, please, dole it out to those that need it because when you go around and you see people, honestly you will feel very bad.”

President Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh regretted that rather than be a blessing, the abundant natural resources Nigeria was blessed with to improve the quality of life, have mostly become a source of conflict.

According to him, the mode of managing most of the resources often leads to strife among communities which has continued to lead to disagreement and loss of lives.

He said: “Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources, from oil and gas to solid minerals and arable land. These resources have the potentials to serve as powerful engine for our national development creating jobs, alleviating poverty, and improving the quality of life for all Nigerians. However, the reality we face is starkly different. Instead of being a blessing, our natural resources have, in many instances, become a source of conflict and insecurity.

“The mode of exploitation and greed in managing of these resources have often led to strife, not only between different ethnic and regional groups but also within communities that vie for control over these resources. The resulting insecurity has had devastating effects on our social fabric, leading to displacement, loss of lives, and a pervasive sense of fear among our citizens.”

Archbishop Okoh who doubles as Co-Chairman of NIREC, charged religious leaders to live up to their unique and vital role of teaching the values of stewardship, sanctity of human life, compassion and justice, as well as advocating for equitable resource distribution, promoting peace and reconciliation among communities.

“It is imperative that we use our positions to address the level of wickedness that manifests in lack of transparency and accountability, impunity and outright organised theft of our commonwealth by calling for accountability and the strengthening of the justice system in Nigeria to punish all criminal acts that undermine our national security, peace, unity and development.

“Furthermore, we must continue to encourage the government at various levels to fish out the sponsors of this criminality, no matter how highly placed they are and no matter how big their network is, and make them face the law.

“As religious leaders, we must continue to advocate for the right values in governance as embedded in the Holy Bible and the Quran to establish good governance that will result in prudent management and equitable distribution of our collective wealth among all Nigerians.”

Executive Secretary of NIREC, Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua questioned how Nigeria’s natural resources have instead of benefiting the nation, continue to be sources of pain and sorrow.

Omonokhua also addressed the north, where valuable resources like solid minerals and agriculture were overshadowed by insecurity, particularly in regions like Zamfara, where gold discovery has fueled banditry.

However, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Dr Gorge Akume noted that the mere existence of natural resources was not the causes of insecurity in Nigeria, but the manner in which they were being exploited.

While noting that Nigeria’s mineral wealth was celebrated globally, Akume reflected on Nigeria’s past reliance on agriculture for economic growth, noting that oil discovery led to a shift away from agriculture which had previously funded infrastructure, education, and other public services.

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