President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, as he marks 20 years on the throne, describing him as a moral compass, a promoter of moderation and a dependable adviser to successive Nigerian leaders.
In a letter he signed himself on Monday, the President said the Sultan’s two decades in office had done more than preserve the ancient Sokoto Caliphate. According to him, the institution had been strengthened and put to work for peace, unity and national development.
Tinubu said the monarch had gone beyond the duties of a traditional ruler by serving as a bridge between faiths and a steady guide to leaders across the country.
He credited the Sultan’s leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, where he is co-chairman, with helping Christians and Muslims find common ground. In the President’s view, this has turned the country’s diversity into a source of strength rather than division.
The President also pointed to the Sultan’s efforts to promote peace in northern Nigeria and the wider Sahel, his advocacy for girl-child education, his support for farmers and his quiet help for the poor and vulnerable.
On a personal level, Tinubu said he treasured their friendship and was grateful for the spiritual and political guidance he had received. He described the Sultan’s advice as honest, patriotic and always aimed at serving the nation’s interest, and thanked him for his prayers for the country.
He wished the monarch good health, a long life and renewed wisdom, and expressed hope that his reign would continue to bring peace to Sokoto, unity to Nigeria and honour to the Muslim community.
Sa’ad Abubakar III became the 20th Sultan of Sokoto on November 2, 2006. He took the throne after the death of his predecessor, Muhammadu Maccido, who was among those killed when ADC Airlines Flight 053 crashed near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on October 29, 2006. The crash killed 96 of the 105 people on board, including the 78-year-old monarch.
A graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, the Sultan joined the Nigerian Army in 1974 and spent almost three decades in uniform. He held command and staff roles at home and on United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad, and retired as a Brigadier-General in December 2006.
During his reign, he has played a leading role in peace efforts around some of the country’s most sensitive conflicts, including clashes between herders and farmers, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and ethno-religious tensions across the Middle Belt.
As President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, he is the country’s highest Islamic religious authority. As co-chairman of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, he shares leadership of the main platform for Christian-Muslim dialogue with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria. He is also known for championing girl-child education, a cause that has long met resistance in parts of the far north.
The Sokoto Caliphate was founded in 1804 by Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio after a jihad across the Hausa states of present-day northern Nigeria. It remains the most significant traditional Islamic institution in sub-Saharan Africa, and its Sultan holds spiritual authority over millions of Muslims across the country.
