A Kano based Islamic scholar, Ustaz Dauda Lokon-Makera, has called on the leadership of the Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs (SCIA) under the leadership of his eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, to unravel how the issue of Ramadan sighting was seeking to polarise the Nigerian Muslim Ummah.
Speaking to news men on the disparity accentuated by the sighting of the month of Shawwal after the conclusion of the Ramadan fast which ushered in the Aid-el- Fitr Sallah festivity , Lokon-Makera expressed concern over the way and manner the festivity was observed at different times adding that the occasion ought to be observed without disparity.
He said it was wrong for the renowned Islamic Scholar, Shiekh Dahiru Usman Bauchi to order the conduct of the Aid-el-Fitir Sallah celebration without the permission of the Supreme Council for Islamic Afairs under the leadership of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, since the SCIA is the highest Islamic decision making body in the country.
He said: “I am highly disturbed by what had happened. The point here is the order by the renowned Islamic scholar, had set a precedence that would in future divide the Muslim Ummah along different Islamic ideological lines. Muslims should be seen to be united not fragmented.
“I can’t imagine the essence of having a leader at the top echelon of Islamic authority, having his authority challenged by a section of the Muslim Ummah. We are expected to speak with one voice. Tommorow would come, when another section would love to challenge the directive on moon sighting at the end of every Ramadan fast,” he posited.
“A leader is a leader, under whatever circumstances. His directive must be respected as it affects the interest of the entire Muslim Ummah. The issue of Ideological differences in the manner we practice our noble religion does not preclude one to abide by the directive of SCIA being the apex Islamic body,” he stressed.
