Sultan Maccido’s family urges tolerance 20 years after death

The family of the late Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Maccido, has urged Nigerian leaders to embrace dialogue, accountability and religious tolerance in addressing insecurity, communal tensions and divisions threatening national unity.

The appeal comes as the family marks 20 years since Maccido died in the October 29, 2006, crash of an ADC Airlines Boeing 737 shortly after take-off from Abuja, alongside his son, Senator Badamasi Maccido, his grandson and other passengers and crew.

In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by Bello Maccido, the family said the late Sultan’s leadership philosophy remained relevant to Nigeria’s present difficulties, stressing the need for consultation, mutual understanding and service to humanity.

“At a time when our nation faces serious security and social challenges, the ideals our father stood for remain as relevant as ever,” the family said.

The family urged political leaders, traditional rulers and citizens to draw lessons from the late monarch’s approach to leadership, particularly his preference for dialogue over confrontation and his efforts to promote peaceful coexistence among people of different religious backgrounds.

Maccido, who became the 19th Sultan of Sokoto in April 1996, was a prominent figure in Nigeria’s traditional and religious leadership. He also served as President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, where he occupied an influential position in Muslim affairs and national religious engagement.

The family recalled his commitment to interfaith relations, education and public health, including campaigns against polio and HIV/AIDS. These efforts, it said, reflected his conviction that traditional institutions should play an active role in improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

His approach to leadership was also remembered by former President Shehu Shagari, who described him as a patient and consultative leader.

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“He does not rush or dictate things,” Shagari was quoted as saying, a description the family said captured Maccido’s preference for listening, consultation and consensus-building.

Born in 1926 in Dange, present-day Sokoto State, Maccido was a son of Sultan Abubakar III and a descendant of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio, the 19th-century Islamic scholar and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Before his emergence as Sultan, he served in public administration, including as Presidential Liaison Officer in Sokoto State. His experience in public service preceded a decade on the throne during which he became a prominent voice in Nigeria’s traditional and religious leadership.

His death in the October 29, 2006, air disaster was a major loss to the Sokoto Sultanate and the country’s Muslim community. The crash claimed 96 lives, according to contemporary reports, and prompted renewed attention to aviation safety and the protection of passengers.

Maccido had travelled to Abuja to attend a Presidential Forum on Education when the aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. His son, Senator Badamasi Maccido, who represented Sokoto North in the Senate, also died in the disaster.

As the family reflects on the tragedy two decades later, it has called for the remembrance to extend beyond mourning to a renewed commitment to public safety, responsible leadership and national cohesion.

“Let this twentieth remembrance be more than an occasion for mourning,” the family said, urging Nigerians to work towards the peaceful, just and united society the late Sultan championed.

The family also called for stronger aviation safety measures and regulatory accountability, saying the lives lost in the disaster should remain a reminder of the importance of protecting passengers and enforcing safety standards.