The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged African countries to develop fresh ideas from the wisdom of its past leaders to get solutions to the challenges facing the continent.
He gave the charge in Abuja at an ongoing three-day international symposium, organised by Moroccan-based Islamic organisation, Mohammad VI Foundation For African Oulema, with the theme: “The Islamic African Heritage: Memory and History.”
The symposium, being attended by about 500 participants from over 30 countries, is aimed at discovering the African Islamic heritage, its components, and its stages of development and the contributions of various environments, among many other objectives.
The Sultan, who is also the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), described Islamic heritage in Africa as rich, deep, and that there are huge collections of manuscripts in private, public universities, libraries and research centres across the world. Abubakar, who commended the foundation and organisers of the symposium, urged participants to ensure maximum interactions to deliver expectations of Muslims, not only in Africa, but also across the world.
He said: “At a time when Africa needs fresh ideas for its rejuvenation, we need to look inward in the hiding treasures of wisdom of our past. This will enable us to get the impetus to chart a new course that will address and solve the many problems facing us today. “I am confident that in the rich legacies of ours, we shall find that which our grandfathers found, which made them build the great empires of the past and contributed to humanity like all other civilisations.”
Earlier, the foundation’s Secretary-General at the Kingdom of Morocco, Dr. Si Mohammed Rifki, said the symposium was a concrete step in the fulfilment of one of the foundation’s objectives.
