The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday proposed an amendment of the 1999 Constitution to integrate traditional and religious institutions into the country’s security architecture.
He made the proposal while delivering a lecture at the National Defence College (NDC) titled “Traditional and Religious Institutions in Nigeria: Implications for National Security”.
According to the Sultan, traditional and religious institutions had made valuable contributions in the nation’s campaigns against disease containment and social vices, to the admiration of many in the past.
Abubakar said the institutions’ wealth of experience could be useful in tackling emerging threats to national security, stressing that the model had worked perfectly in some countries around the world.
He said: “With the emerging security challenges facing the nation and the wealth of experience at the disposal of our traditional and religious institutions it is time to do what is necessary to address the situation.
“We should, with all sincerity, endeavour to put in place the right constitutional framework to enable them address the daunting challenges.
“National Traditional Leaders Council had worked well in Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries with tangible results”.
Earlier, the Commandant of the college, Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, acknowledged the roles of traditional and religious institutions in nation building.
