JNI advocates for talks to resolve ongoing hunger protests

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, who leads the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), made a passionate plea on Friday for protest leaders, stakeholders, and the Federal Government to come together for talks, urging all parties to find a peaceful resolution before the situation escalates.

While acknowledging the severity of the challenges facing Nigerians, the Muslim organisation expressed concerns that protests might not be the most effective way to tackle the issues, suggesting that a more nuanced approach could be necessary to find lasting solutions.

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) issued a statement through its Secretary-General, Prof. Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu, in Kaduna State, noting that the international experience has demonstrated that protests can sometimes spiral out of control, citing examples from countries like Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

JNI urged the government to secure the country to ensure access to land and cultivation, provide subsidised farming materials, promote industrialisation, and enhance the quality of education.

According to the statement, the JNI advocated for sober reflection, sincere humility, and continued prayer to Allah, while citing Qur’anic guidance and the Prophet’s teachings on supplication.

The statement read in part: “Arising from the recent calls and counter-calls for protests in Nigeria, driven by food insecurity, inflation, abject poverty, and escalating national security challenges, it becomes very worrying and requires immediate attention.

“Therefore, the JNI, under the leadership of His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, with all sense of responsibility, appeals to the protest conveners, their covert and overt benefactors, as well as other critical stakeholders and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), to urgently engage in critical and realistic dialogue before the situation deteriorates or snowballs into an uncontrollable scenario.

“Nigerians, no doubt, are facing difficult challenges, but protests might not be the panacea. The global landscape is replete with sordid tales of the repercussions of protests in Libya, Syria, Iraq, the US (Capitol Hill), Ukraine, Tunisia, Sudan, Russia, among others, which did not yield the desired results but rather rendered most of these countries either ungovernable or partly destroyed.”

The organisation noted: “A glance at events in Kenya provides some insights into what might envelop our dear nation Nigeria, which is struggling to overcome the multiple challenges facing the country. Undoubtedly, protests in Nigeria could undermine our efforts to address these challenges.”

The JNI urged Nigerians to “avoid the pitfalls they have fallen into in their attempts to achieve good governance, against the notion that protests are the only way forward because that is the language the government is said to understand.”

“The FGN should make more concerted efforts to secure the country, ensuring that citizens have access to their lands and can cultivate them, and provide subsidised farming materials,” among other measures across the Federation.