Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged Nigerian leaders to always place the interest of the country above sectional or partisan considerations.
Abubakar said the unity of the country was paramount and that leaders should endeavour to promote it at all times.
The Sultan spoke at the weekend in his palace in Sokoto when Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, paid him a condolence visit over the death of a member of the Sultanate Council, Hassan Danbaba.
The late Danbaba was the Magajin-gari Sokoto and a grandson of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello.
Abubakar described Governor Diri as a patriotic Nigerian, saying his delegation comprised of individuals from different parts of the country and advised other leaders to emulate him to foster unity.
He thanked the governor for the visit and for identifying with people of the state in their moment of grief.
“At the appointed time, every one of us will answer the great call. It is only the Almighty God that knows when is the appointed time,” he said.
The Sultan congratulated the Bayelsa governor on his second anniversary in office and for providing what he described as “very strong leadership as attested to by many leaders in the country.”
He prayed for God’s guidance for him to continue to steer the ship of Bayelsa on the path of peace and development.
In his remarks, Governor Diri commiserated with Sultan Abubakar, his Sokoto counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal, and people of the state over Danbaba’s death.
He said Danbaba was dear to the state and Nigeria, noting that his sudden demise was a shock not only to the people of Sokoto but, indeed, the whole country.
He explained that he would have visited earlier when he first heard about the sad loss but that activities marking the second anniversary of his administration, which just ended, delayed him.
While bemoaning the state of insecurity in the country and the banditry and terrorism in parts of the North, the Bayelsa helmsman called on the Federal Government to make efforts to bring the scourge to an end.
He noted that too many lives had been lost to insurgency in the North.
He said: “Your Eminence, I am here on behalf of the good people of Bayelsa State and my prosperity administration to commiserate with you, the governor and people of Sokoto State.
“Death is a necessary end that will come when it will come. None of us has control over it.
“Our prayer is that whenever we come to Sokoto, it would not be as a result of death again. Instead, we will come to this great kingdom to be happy and make merriment with you.
“We are also not unaware of the banditry that has claimed so many lives in this state and other parts of the North. Again, on behalf of the people of my state, I commiserate with you over the lives that have been lost.
“I therefore call on the Federal Government and the military to redouble their effort to stop the banditry in the North. We are like a system where one part of the country is sick, the rest of the country is also sick. We cannot fold our arms in Bayelsa believing all is well when it is not well with our brothers in Sokoto.
“I appeal to the Federal Government to do all it could to stop the banditry so our people can breathe and sleep with their two eyes closed. So they can go about their legitimate businesses without fear of being attacked.”
Speaking with newsmen at the Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport, Diri commended Tambuwal on the level of development in the state, saying evidence abounds that he is working like other Peoples Democratic Party governors in the country.