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Muhammad Saad Abubakar headshot

Muhammad Saad Abubakar

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This individual is not a direct affiliate of the Berkley Center. They have contributed to one or more of our events, publications, or projects. Please contact the individual at their home institution.

His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar is the sultan of Sokoto and president-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. As sultan of Sokoto he is considered the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s over 70 million Muslims, who account for roughly 50 percent of the nation’s population; with Cardinal John Onaiyekan he has worked to reduce tensions between Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north and Christian-majority south. Before being selected as sultan, Abubaker served in the Nigerian military from 1975 to 2006, including terms as Nigeria's defense attache to Pakistan and as a peacekeeper with the Organisation of African Unity and ECOWAS. He is one of the signatories of "A Common Word Between Us and You," an open letter written in 2007 by Muslim intellectuals to Christian leaders.
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