Buhari & Sultan Of Sokoto Make List Of Top 50 World’s Most Influential Muslim Leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari, the Sultan

of Sokoto, Saád Abubakar, and a

Maiduguri-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh

Ibrahim Saleh, have been named among

the world’s 50 most influential Muslim

leaders.

The Muslim 500, an annual publication of

the World’s 500 most influential Muslims,

recognised the three Nigerian leaders in

its 7th edition published recently.

The publication says there are 1.7 billion

Muslims in the world today, making up

approximately 23% of the world’s

population, or one-fifth of mankind.

It said those recognised have a sense of

belonging to Muslim community

worldwide, besides being citizens of their

respective countries.

The publication measured influence some

Muslims have on other Muslims to

include: any person who has the power

(be it cultural, ideological, financial,

political or otherwise) to make a change

that will have a significant impact on the

Muslim world.

The impact could be either positive or

negative, depending on one’s point of

view, it said.

It added that the influence could be of a

religious scholar directly addressing

Muslims and influencing their beliefs,

ideas and behaviour, or it could be a

ruler shaping the socio-economic factors

within which people live their lives, or of

artists shaping popular culture.

“The first two examples also point to the

fact that the lists, and especially the Top

50, are dominated by religious scholars

and heads of state.

Their dominant and lasting influence

cannot be denied, especially the rulers,

who in many cases also appoint religious

scholars to their respective positions,” it

said.

While the publication listed the top 500

influential Muslim leaders, the first part

recognised the top 50 in which Messrs.

Buhari, Abubakar and Saleh appear.

President Buhari was listed as the

Number 20, while the Sultan and Sheikh

Saleh are listed as numbers 24 and 38

respectively.

In a short citation, The Muslim 500

recognised Mr. Buhari’s past military

career, his anti-corruption credentials

and his promise and subsequent efforts

to deal with the insurgent group, Boko

Haram.

It also recognised that on economy and

infrastructure.

“President Buhari was the first chairman

of the Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation (NNPC) and was the

mastermind behind the construction of 20

oil depots throughout Nigeria, a project

involving over 3200 kilometres of

pipelines,” the magazine said. “Both the

Warri and Kaduna refineries were built

under his leadership.

He also established the blueprints for the

country’s petro-chemical and liquefied

natural gas programmes”.

On environment, it said Mr. Buhari is “an

active environmentalist who has drafted

several plans to preserve wildlife in

Nigeria. He has also exerted great efforts

on the conservation of nature in Nigeria;

such as controlling the logging industry

whereby he has ensured that double the

number of trees felled are replaced by

loggers.

He has also worked on restricting the

Ecological Fund Office so it can deliver on

environmental challenges”.

As for the Sultan Abubakar, the

publication stated that he holds an

important administrative influence in

Nigerian religious life.

“Abubakar is the titular ruler of Sokoto in

northern Nigeria and is also the head of

the Nigerian National Supreme Council

for Islamic Affairs. Leadership of this

council means that the Sultan of Sokoto

remains the only figure that can

legitimately claim to speak on behalf of

all Nigerian Muslims.

“This role has become increasingly

influential over the years with a rise in

interreligious tensions between Nigeria’s

Muslim majority north and Christian-

majority south,” it said.

The Muslim 500 also said the Sultan has

started many initiatives to counter and

reduce the influence of Boko Haram,

including inviting an international joint

Muslim/Christian Delegation to visit

Nigeria.

As for Sheikh Saleh, the publication

recognised him as a lecturer in the fields

of Tafsir Al Qur’an (exegesis) and the

Hadith as well as Islamic sciences,

jurisprudence and ethics.

“He has over 100 written works. He has

held and still heads several significant

positions, some of which are, founder

and mentor of the Islamic renaissance

Organization, adviser to the Federal

Government on its Islamic Affairs since

1992, Assistant Secretary-general for

African Affairs in the World Islamic

People’s Leadership 1989 and many

more”.

It also said the Sheikh is currently the

head of the Supreme Council for Fatwa

and Islamic Affairs in Nigeria and

recently became a member of the ‘Muslim

Council of Elders’ which embraces

prominent scholars.

Source: PremiumTimes