Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar on Tuesday announced five prizes that will be awarded five outstanding individuals annually.
He made the announcement at a public lecture, commemorating his 15th Year coronation anniversary held at the International Conference Centre, Kasarawa area of the state.
The Sultan named the prizes as Sheikh Usmanu Danfodiyo Prize for Leadership; Abdullah Danfodiyo Prize for Scholarship; Sultan Muhammadu Bello Prize for Governance; Nana Asmau Prize for Social Development and Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar Prize for Peace Building.
According to him, the prizes were established for people who have excelled in areas chosen for the awards and to promote peace building among Nigerians and across the Niger.
“The five prizes I have personally instituted, I consulted over them and it is going to be annual, to promote peace building in the country.
“The first category is Sheikh Usman Danfodiyo Prize for Leadership; Abdullah Danfodiyo Prize for Scholarship; Sultan Muhammadu Bello Prize for Governance; Nana Asmau Prize for Social Development and Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar Prize for Peace Building,” the Sultan said.
At the maiden awards which took place on Tuesday, Prof. Shehu Galadanci, first Vice Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, won the first prize. Galadanci was Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia for 10 years. He is the leader of National Mosque Abuja.
The second prize went to late Sheikh Ahmad Lemu and was received by his children led by Nurudeen Lemu; the third prize went to Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi; the fourth was won by Prof. Sadiya Bello and fifth went to late Dr. Lateef Adegbite, the former Secretary General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
“The El-Kanemi is the 20th Shehu of Borno just like I am 20th Sultan of Sokoto. His father was the first to visit Sokoto just like my father was the first to visit Borno and, like he said earlier, Shehu of Borno and I have worked seriously together and I know that the prize for governance has been rightly won by him,” the monarch explained.
“Each winner gets N1 million for the prize,” Sultan Abubakar added.
Meanwhile, popular Islamic scholar and Head of Zimbabwe Fatwa Department, Mufty Menk, who was guest speaker at the event, described as shire ignorance for people to pick quarrel and fight over human differences, especially in matters of religion.
Popularly called Mufty Menk, the 46-year-old Harare-born Zimbabwean scholar said “since Allah did not create humanity to fight against one another, all efforts by any believer to get reward by fighting over human differences, will be to no avail.
In his lecture, Menk referred to the Sultan as “my elder brother and leader to the Ummah”, and urged Muslims of Nigeria and across Africa not to belittle other people for reason of being bigger or higher than them in age, size, wealth or anything.
He preached peaceful co-existence among people, saying that smile should be more practicable to all than frowning among brothers and sisters within the faith and between members of the Ummah and members of other faiths.
“I was once asked why I smile a lot, and I replied that because first name is ‘smile’ and so I have to smile and secondly because it is the Sunnah of the Proper of Islam that that we should smile to one another,” he said.
Menk urged believers to do good towards one another and to anyone, commending Nigerians as a good community people that not allow hate or hate speech at time to cause fight among one another.
He assured everyone that economic or social differences should not be reason for hostilities towards or among people.
This he said was so because Allah did not create human beings to fight one another but to worship him and do good towards self and fellow human beings.
He said the duty of brother towards another brother, who does not do as he expects in Islamic is not to fight but make peaceful conveyance of the message as explained by Allah in the Qur’an, “For you is to convey the message. It is unto me they shall return.
“When someone disagrees with me, although I am not going to compromise my way or religion or my way of dressing, my way of living by halal and moving away from aram, I can only find a way of patiently and peacefully presenting the message to him; I won’t fight him.
“Don’t compromise your religion, but find a way to tell people what is right because, if I decide to fight people because of differences of opinion or religious practice, it means that I will fight from this day till I die. It is not done,” he said
The Prophet used to go to places where people were doing wrong and told them what they are doing and how to change them for good.
The lecture was attended by Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal; his deputy, Manir Dan’Iya; Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi; Emir of Argungu, Samaila Mera, among other dignitaries.
