JUST IN: B0ko Haram Never Said Education Is Forb!dden, Their F!ght Is About Bad Governance
JUST IN: B0ko Haram Never Said Education Is Forb!dden, Their F!ght Is About Bad Governance
Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has dismissed the popular belief that B0ko Haram rejects Western education, insisting that the group’s real grievance lies in bad governance.
He made the statement while speaking at the launch of General Lucky Irabor’s book in Abuja, attended by former presidents, military chiefs, and national leaders.
The book presentation attracted some of Nigeria’s most prominent leaders, creating a setting where insecurity, religion, and governance inevitably came under discussion.
The Sultan, who has long championed interfaith dialogue, said he was compelled to correct a decades-long misrepresentation of B0ko Haram’s ideology.
According to him, many of the insurgents were themselves educated professionals—engineers, doctors, and graduates—contradicting the notion that they were opposed to schooling.
Instead, he said, the root of their rebellion was frustration with leaders who had failed to deliver good governance. The Sultan warned that repeating false narratives only deepens division and misunderstanding in society.
He went further to challenge misconceptions around Islam, clarifying that jihad does not mean violence against non-Muslims but rather a personal commitment to strive for excellence in one’s faith and responsibilities.
Calling for mutual respect, he reminded Nigerians that no one chose their religion at birth, and that peace can only come from understanding and coexisting with one another.
In his words: “They never claimed B0ko Haram means education is forbidden. Many of them went to school—you cannot open somebody’s brain and remove the knowledge inside. What they are after is the issue of bad governance.”
