The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has urged Nigerians to march words with actions to enable the nation to achieve enduring peace and unity.
Abubakar made the call when he spoke at the presentation of Staff of Office to Homun Honest Irmiya, the 28th Hama Bachama of Bachama Kingdom in Numan, Adamawa, on Saturday.
“We have been talking of peace at every given opportunity, now is the time to walk the talk,’’ the sultan said.
The sultan, a course-mate to the new Hama Bachama, Irmiya, at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, in 1975, described the choice of Irmiya as deserving.
He appealed to the people of the kingdom to give the new Hama Bachama the maximum support and cooperation he would require to succeed in his task of uniting the people.
Gov. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, who presented a first class staff of office to the Hama Bachama, lauded the commitment of traditional rulers to peace and unity in the state.
Nyako congratulated the new traditional ruler on his ascension, and urged him to do everything possible to restore the lost glory of the Numan people.
He urged traditional rulers in the state to set up youth volunteer groups that would assist them in effective mobilisation for peace and cultural reorientation of the citizenry.
Irmiya, in his speech urged solicited support and cooperation of the people to revive the integrity and prestige of the Bachama kingdom, which had suffered undue denigration due to instigated conflicts.
“The need for unity and peace cannot be over-emphasised. For close to a decade now, this kingdom has been strife-torn and we have been victims of self-inflicted wounds.
“We must now bend our energies toward ending of the strife, and the healing of the wounds,’’ Irmiya said.
The new Hama Bachama called on prominent sons and daughters of Numan to establish industries at home and help to create employment opportunities for the people.
A former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, and Tor Tiv, Mr Alfred Torkula, attended the event.
