For 56 years now, the Sokoto Sultanate Council has been playing host to senior Muslim clerics across the state who offer special prayers for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.
The prayer session takes place every day at the Sultan Bello Mosque (founded by the pioneer Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Bello, who is one of the children of the great Islamic reformer, Sheikh Usmanu bin Fodiyo) and it has been attended by the succeeding Sultans and their counselors.
The session is being preceded by the reading of the whole chapters of the Holy Qur’an by a group of clerics under the leadership of Sarkin Malaman Sokoto (leader of Islamic clerics in the state).
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports hat the prayers was traced to the time when Nigeria was treading on an uncertain course following the assassination of its political leaders in the first coup in the country led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu on January, 15 1966.
Those killed during the coup included the first and only Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto) who was a great, great grandson of Sheikh Usmanu bin Fodiyo; the former Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, some top military officers from the north, the late Premier of the Western, Samuel Akintola among others.
This had caused general apprehension in addition to a great uncertainty about the future of the country. It was in view of this that the then Sultan of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar III, saw the need for Imams and Ulamah to converge on his palace every blessing morning and recite the whole chapters of the Holy Quran which is followed with a special prayer for the repose of the souls of the Northern leaders killed in the coup and for peace to reign in the country.
This gesture has been sustained by Sultan Abubakar III’s three successors: Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki, Sultan Muhammadu Maccido and the reigning Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.
How it all started –
Speaking to 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE in Sokoto، Alhaji Yusuf Abubakar III, said the 56-year old morning prayers was initiated by their father, late Sultan Abubakar III following the political instability that followed the 1966 bloodshed.
He said, “The country was at a standstill with a lot of apprehension and tension. And people were uncertain about the future of the country because the coup appeared to be sectionally inclined. This was why the then Sultan initiated the prayer session which was done every morning at the two main mosques in the state, the Sultan Bello Mosque which is direct opposite to the palace and Shehu’s Mosques which was where the great reformer pray during his lifetime.”
He said that the tradition has been sustained by his successors and it would continue to be maintained forever. After the prayer session, Yusuf said Sadaqat (alms) is given out for Allah (SWA) to accept and grant the prayers.
Mr Yusuf said “the relative peace that has been reining in Sokoto and environs and the unity of the country are indications that Allah is answering our prayers. And there was never a fora in which the current Sultan had not stressed the important of prayers. He uses to call on Imams and Scholars to always pray for our leaders and the wellbeing of this country. This is what this palace stand for, unity, good leadership and the development of this nation.”
Corroborating Yusuf’s remarks, the Wazirin Sokoto, Professor Sambo Junaidu, said there was a palpable fear in the north after the killing of Sardauna and some prominent people of the north because Sardauna was seen as invincible who could not be harmed by any mortal in the region. So people feared that his killing could lead to calamities in the country.
“When the tension was high, Sultan Abubakar III summoned clerics and urged them to recite the whole chapters of the Quran and to pray for the restoration of peace in the country which has become a tradition since then more so there had been subsequent coups and counter coups in addition to civil war,” he said.
Sarkin Malaman Sokoto, Malam Yahya Na-Malam Boyi told 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE that the prayer season starts by 9am every morning and it takes place even when the Sultan is out of the state.
According to him, the prayers started during the first and second world war but was intensified when the late premier and some political leaders of the north were assassinated.
He said it is now extended to all the major Juma’at mosques in the state as instructed by the Sultan, where clerics converged, read the Holy Qur’an and pray for the state and the country under the leadership of Chief Imams of those mosques.
Sarkin Malamai said one of the significant of the prayers is what is keeping the country intact despite numerous challenges.
He said if not for its sustainability, only God knows what would have been the date of Nigeria.
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto who had once participated in the prayers said “as you are aware, Sokoto is founded on the ideals of spirituality, commitment and service.
“Our communities have survived centuries of challenges due to their strong faith in God,” he said.
Tambuwal, who was speaking shortly after the session, said they would continue with such prayers and encourage others to do something similar.
On the late Premier, he said tas the home state of Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sokoto, “we are proud of his contribution to the emergence of Nigeria as a nation and his total commitment to the unity and development of the North.
“Sardauna, along with his colleagues, notably the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, gave everything they had, including their lives, to ensure a better country for us.”
