Late Sheikh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi and the 13th Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero were among the recipients of the prestigious Sheikh Usmanu Danfodiyo Award.
While Gumi who was the Grand Khadi of the defunct Northern Region bagged the Danfodiyo award for exemplary leadership, the late Emir was conferred with the Sultan Muhammad Bello award for good governance.
Pay our 4-month salaries, varsity workers tell FG
VC seeks prosecution of crimes against journalists
Other recipients were Sheikh Sheriff Ibrahim Saleh who bagged the Sheikh Abdullahi Fordioyo award on knowledge and scholarship, while the former deputy governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Lateefat bagged the Nana Asma’u award on social development.
The seasoned civil servant and Madawakin Gwandu, Idris Koko received the Sultan Abubakar III award on public service while Imam Fo’ad Adeyemi bagged the Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad award on peacebuilding.
Speaking at the ceremony, which held at the International Conference Centre, Sokoto on Wednesday, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar said the awardees had done a lot for humanity, recalling how the late Kaduna-based Islamic scholar and the late emir worked towards the progress of Islam, their societies and Nigeria at large.
Sultan Sa’ad also urged children to acquire education, saying that was the only way they could fight oppressors and their enemies.
He further harped on the unity of the ummah and Nigerians, saying some of the awardees were outside the catchment area of the Caliphate.
Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Sheikh Ahmad Mahmoud Gumi who is the son of the late Gumi appealed to Sultan Sa’ad to summon a meeting of all Islamic sects’ leaders with a view to ironing out their differences.
“This is what your late father, Sultan Abubakar III did during his time,” he said.
The ceremony was part of the Danfodiyo Week celebration, which was organised by the Sultanate Council in collaboration with NACOMYO and other Islamic groups.