Traditional rulers not afraid of governors- Sultan

SOKOTO- The Sultan of Sokoto, Mohammed Abubakar Sa’ad III, has stated that traditional rulers are not afraid of state governors, but are rather respectful of their authority over the state.

The Sultan noted that traditional rulers had existed before the 1914 amalgamation and Nigeria’s independence in 1960, adding that monarchs had more stake and understanding of the country.

He stated this at a stakeholders’ roundtable on Northern Nigerian Youth Development, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

Former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, had said traditional rulers were afraid of their governors.

In response, the Sultan said, “I heard that traditional rulers are afraid of their governors. No, traditional rulers are not afraid of the governors. Traditional rulers are only respecting themselves, respecting the governors who have authority in the various states, not fear.”

“Whenever anything is done, we don’t give up. We leave everything to Almighty Allah, who brought changes to the world and we accept changes as there are.

“Because we all knew, before the governors came to be, our institutions had been ruling present Nigeria since 1914. There was no Nigeria then before we got independence in 1960. So we have more stake as traditional leaders in the country because we know what our people feel and we are honest with them and we don’t run away whenever anything happens.”