The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged traditional rulers across the country to intensify their support for national efforts in public health and security. Speaking in Abuja during the second quarterly review of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care Delivery, the Sultan stressed that community leaders must remain at the forefront of the campaign to eradicate polio and other preventable diseases.
He reminded participants that the fight against polio cannot be won without consistency, particularly in reaching rural and underserved areas. He commended the NTLC for its 16 years of mobilising communities for vaccination drives and other health campaigns, noting that their interventions have boosted immunisation coverage in several states by over 25 percent.
But his message stretched beyond health alone. Abubakar warned that medicine and vaccines would yield little impact without good nutrition and secure communities. He urged leaders to encourage farming by working with authorities to restore safety in rural areas, arguing that food security is an inseparable part of healthcare.
On the broader national picture, the Sultan condemned the wave of killings, kidnappings, and assaults on worshippers across the country, describing such acts as a complete distortion of both Islamic and Christian teachings. He called on traditional institutions to expand their influence beyond vaccination campaigns and take a proactive role in promoting peace and protecting their people.
As patron of the NTLC, he praised both federal and state governments for entrusting traditional leaders with responsibilities such as supervising vaccinators, saying the collaborative model had strengthened health delivery at the grassroots. He encouraged leaders to sustain the partnership and expand it to other pressing challenges.
“The drugs will not work if people are hungry, and peace will not hold if insecurity drives them off their farms,” the Sultan cautioned, reaffirming his commitment to working with government in advancing health, food, and security across the nation.
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