COVID-19: Sultan urges Nigerians to accept vaccines
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Wednesday called on Nigerians not to be sceptical about COVID-19 vaccines as they were produced to create immunity against the virus. The sultan, at a sensitisation programme in Abuja on ‘COVID-19 for Muslim Scholars and Imams in Nigeria,’ organised by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs […]
His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Wednesday called on Nigerians not to be sceptical about COVID-19 vaccines as they were produced to create immunity against the virus.
The sultan, at a sensitisation programme in Abuja on ‘COVID-19 for Muslim Scholars and Imams in Nigeria,’ organised by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), stated that if the intent of the vaccine was to kill Africans, then other goods imported from Western countries would have done so long ago.
“It is wrong to conclude that the vaccines are created to kill, the Coca-Cola products and drugs we take were some at a point in time imported, so lots of people would not have been alive.
“The only way experts believe that this virus can be stopped is through the vaccine.”
While charging religious leaders to educate and sensitise their followers on the importance of taking the vaccine, he emphasized on doing it on trust.
“The campaign against polio was built on trust and it was not easy to convince parents to allow their children to take it.
“But through collaboration with traditional and religious leaders, the virus was brought to an end in the country. So, we need genuine trust and education on how safe the vaccines are before mass administration,” he added.