A Sultan of our times
As far as I can remember, the only editorial comment we ever used twice, in the Daily Trust, was the one we addressed to two sultans. Titled ‘Something is wrong, Your Eminence’ we used the editorial first on March 8th 2001, addressing late Sultan Muhammadu Maccido; and again on December 5th 2008, this time addressing […]
As far as I can remember, the only editorial comment we ever used twice, in the Daily Trust, was the one we addressed to two sultans. Titled ‘Something is wrong, Your Eminence’ we used the editorial first on March 8th 2001, addressing late Sultan Muhammadu Maccido; and again on December 5th 2008, this time addressing his younger brother and successor, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad.
It was on the persistent moonsighting controversy, which had led us to observe Eid il Kabir on Arafat day four different times. The first time this happened was in the late 1990s during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki. Then again it recurred in the year 2000 and 2001 under Sultan Muhammadu Maccido. That was what led us to deliberate on the issue at our editorial board and to comment on it.
The Daily Trust stated that it was a real cause for concern that for two years in a row, Nigeria was celebrating Eid il Adha on Arafat day while the rest of the world all observed it the next day. We lamented the fact that every year we, in Nigeria and particularly Northern Nigeria, always began the Ramadan fast ahead of everyone else and also ended it ahead of everyone else, because we insist that the months of Sha’aban and Ramadan were always 29 days and never 30.
This discrepancy inevitably led to the problem of marking Eid il Kabir on Arafat day. So we advised Sultan Maccido to find a way of making sure that we, at least, stop marking the Eid il Kabir ahead of everyone else by sticking to the Saudi position on the matter. Afterall the whole world defers to Saudi authorities on this issue, even if they marked their Ramadan and Shawwal beginnings differently.
We reminded the sultan that this was the reason our Southern brothers stopped joining us to mark these occasions on the same day.
Though we can’t tell how effective the editorial was in addressing the problem but we certainly never experienced it again till his death five years later.
But then in December 2008, we were suddenly faced with the problem again. The Saudi authorities had announced that Arafat day was Sunday 7th December which made Eid il Kabir Monday the 8th, but His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad, did a broadcast saying that based on the recommendations of Muslim scholars, the Eid day was Sunday 7th and not Monday the 8th.
We quickly dusted our editorial of seven years earlier and, with a little explanation at the top, reprinted it. Again we can’t tell how effective it was in getting the Sultan to address the moonsighting controversy but we do know that from then on we never encountered the problem of Eid il Adha on Arafat day again.
To show how responsive he was to the problem of these discrepancies, the Sultan constituted a moonsighting committee that doesn’t only announce the spiritually-significant months of Ramadan, Shawwal and Dhul Hajj but monitors and announces the commencement of every lunar month throughout the year. Sultan Sa’ad also saw to the establishment of the media committees of Jamaatu Nasril Islam and Nigerian Supreme council for Islamic affairs, so they can publicise these announcements along with other things. As a member of both committees, I have been duly receiving this moonsighting alerts from the media office of the JNI, every month, in the past few years.
The result of this great initiative of His Eminence was that we began to start Ramadan fast with the rest of the world and also end it with them. Most of us who never experienced a 30-day Ramadan because we, in the North, always ended it at 29 began to enjoy this great feat.
And of course, we no longer stuck out, like a sore thumb, by marking Eid il Kabir when everyone else was marking Arafat. But Sultan Sa’ad did not stop at just reestablishing our unity with our Southern brethen through making sure we start and end our fasts the same day, he also made himself available for every Islamically significant event taking place anywhere in the South. He thereby earned himself the title of a bridge-builder extraordinaire. He was also on hand in any peace-building efforts everywhere in Northern Nigeria, particularly in areas where sectarian strife had been common. His great involvement in interfaith activities made him a co-chair of the Nigeria Interreligious council, NIREC.
I had expected a sultan with a difference, when the day he was announced as the new sultan, the news casters said his hobbies included listening to music and watching football. But nothing prepared me for the purposeful and responsive leadership Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad had displayed in the last ten years.
The dynamism and community spirit he displays by being wherever he is needed was noticed not only on our shores but internationally as well. His Eminence was recently ranked the 16th most influential Muslim in the world in a book published by the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetion Univesity USA.
In pursuance of his objectives of fostering peace and unity in Nigeria as well as caring for the underprivileged, His Eminence established the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development in November 2014. The aim of this foundation is to promote development, peaceful coexistence, better understanding of Islam and the provision of humanitarian aid to the needy and vulnerable groups.
Generally seen as down-to-earth and approachable by those who meet him, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has proved that he is certainly a sultan suitable for our times.
As he clocks ten years on the throne on November 2nd, this column sincerely wishes His Eminence many more years of responsive leadership and service to humanity. Allah Ya ja zamanin Sarkin Musulmi!