Nigerian Sultan Visits Harvard

Muhammadu Sada Abubakar, the religious leader of Nigeria’s seventy million Muslims, called for interreligious dialogue in the midst of an “atmosphere of mistrust and fear” between Christians and Muslims in the region.

Despite religious and political tensions, “few people have been persecuted for committing an act of violence in Nigeria,” said Abubakar, the sultan of Sokoto, Nigeria, a state in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim northwest region. “It’s not what the perpetrators of violence do, it’s the actions we take in response that shapes humanity.”

Abubakar spoke on Monday as part of the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture Series, an annual set of talks sponsored by the Weatherhead Center.

Abubakar discussed Islam’s long presence in North Africa, pointing out that Islam was well established in Nigeria by the 17th century. Turning to contemporary issues facing people in Nigeria, Abubakar said that education will be a leading mechanism for combatting political and religious tension.

“Education is the key to all our problems,” he said. “We’re doing a lot to empower the children, especially the girls. We have to get up and seek knowledge.”

Abubakar said education can help tackle the major issue of youth unemployment in Nigeria, which has resulted in violence in other regions.

“In many parts of the world, there is abject poverty, neglect, and violence,” Abubakar said. “I have seen the devastation of war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

Abubakar said he hopes to change this by promoting a set of values that all people, especially leaders, can abide by. Some of these values include knowledge, integrity, and justice—without resorting to violence.

“Seeing to the welfare of people is more important than the use of force,” he said.

Abubakar said that in order to truly make progress in combatting social problems, policy must target the average person.

“Political strategy must affect the life of the common man. [We should] develop a minimum political agenda to chart the way forward.”

Yet Abubakar said that government policies should not come at the expense of international cooperation and tolerance.

A.Z. Abdu, a staffer at Nigeria’s embassy in Washington D.C., said Abubakar’s lecture “builds bridges between cultures.”

“The Sultan is a very special person who tries to solve the problems of society,” Zango said.