HIS EMINENCE THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO IS THE ONLY NIGERIAN LEADER WHO IS RECOGNISED TO MONTHLY ANNOUNCE TO THE OVER 150 MILLION MUSLIMS THE APPEARANCE OF THE 12 LUNAR MOONS THAT MAKE UP THE 12 LUNAR MONTHS OF THE HIJRI CALENDAR. BUT, ABSURDLY, THE BIRTHDAY OF HIS EMINENCE THE SULTAN IS BEING CELEBRATED BY HIS NIGERIAN WELL WISHERS UNDER THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR!
The Hijri Calendar was introduced in 622 CE marking the Hijrah (migration) of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from Mecca to Medina. Hijri Calendar is made up of 12 Lunar Months that are based on the sighting of the 12 Lunar Moons by Muslims. On the other hand the Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582 CE to replace the Julian Calendar. Therefore, the Hijri Calendar is 960 years older than the Gregorian Calendar; and Muslims pride in using the Hijri Calendar in all Muslim Communities and Nations of the World.
The Birthday (Mawlid al Nabi) of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was Monday the 12th of Rabi al Awwal. He celebrated it every Monday with Fasting to glorify Allah (SWT). The Abbasid Caliphs celebrated Mawlid Day with Special Prayers at the Palace in Baghdad from 132 AH (750 CE). The first Annual Public Festival of the Mawlid Day was by the Turkic General Gokbori at the Prophet’s Masjid in Medina in 604 AH (1207 CE). The Ottoman Sultan Murad III declared Mawlid Day as an Official Holiday in the Ottoman Caliphate in 996 AH (1588 CE).
Today, Mawlid Day is a Public Holiday in the following 50 Countries including Nigeria: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cocos Island, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Guinea, Guyana, India (some Regions), Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen; except Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In all these Public Holidays, the 12th Day of the Lunar Month of Rabi al Awwal under the Islamic HIJRI CALENDAR had been considered!
All Faith activities in Islam are tied to the Days and Dates in the 12 Lunar Months of the Hijri Calendar. Fasting, Hajj, Zakat, the Eids, etc, are all tied to the Hijri Calendar and never to the Gregorian Calendar! Therefore, sighting the Lunar Moons that make up the Lunar Months of the Hijri Calendar had always been a priority in Islam, where Muslim Leaders are tasked with this responsibility. The Sultans and Shehus of Kanem-Borno, the Sarakuna of Kasar Hausa and the Sultans of Sokoto have always been responsible for Lunar Months for centuries!
The Lunar Moon related Hijri Calendar has been in use by Muslims in our part of the World since the founding of the First Muslim State around the Lake Chad Region by Sultan (Mai) Humme of Kanem Kingdom around 462 AH (1070 CE). Kanem Sultan Humme performed the Hajj in 467 AH (1075 CE). Indeed, the Nigerian Government recognises the Hijri Calendar by declaring Mawlid Day as a Public Holiday! Why then, are Nigerian Muslims throwing away a 956 years old Hijri legacy in our Lands for the 126 years old Gregorian Calendar that was introduced to Nigeria by British Colonialists in 1900 CE?
The Titular Ruler of Sokoto Caliphate and the Spiritual Leader of Nigerian Muslims, His Eminence, Sarkin Musulmi, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, was born on the 17th Day of Muharram 1376 AH. Therefore Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar is today (the 24th day of August 2026), 72 Years, One Month and 21 days Old under the Islamic Hijri Calendar.
Since 1941, when the BBC Hausa Service started broadcasting to Nigeria from Accra, Ghana, His Eminence Sultan Abubakar III, the glorious father of Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad, started broadcasting the appearance of the new Lunar Moon under the Hijri Calendar for fasting and Eid Celebrations to Nigerian Muslims. That tradition continued up to today, where Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar has expanded it to Monthly announcements of the 12 Lunar Moons making up the 12 Lunar Months of the Islamic Hijri Calendar. Therefore, why is the Birthday of the No.1 Muslim Leader, whose major unifying duty to Nigerian Muslims today is to announce the "Birth" of a new Islamic Lunar Month, be treated under a Gregorian Month? Those who send congratulatory and goodwill messages to His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar should please take cognisance of the great Islamic Religious significance of the Sultan and use the Hijri Calendar.
CLARION CALL ON NIGERIAN MUSLIMS
I wish to call on Nigerian Muslims to please kindly honour the over 1400 years old Hijri Calendar in all our Personal Affairs like Birthdays, Weddings, Private Company Working Days, etc. For example, we may give extra days during holidays to our Personal Staff beyond the days given by the Government. Our Religious and Worldly Affairs should reflect our Lunar Moons and Months; and our dear Hijri Calendar. At lease let us, in our Daily Private Lives, show respect for our Hijri Calendar, which determines the timings for our daily, monthly and yearly activities! We should throw away the Colonial Gregorian legacy in our Private Lives; and with all due respect leave the Gregorian Calendar to those who need it in their Private Lives!
Prof. Sani Abubakar Lugga, MFR,
The 5th Waziri of Katsina
The 1st Wazirin Ilmi of Hausaland
11th Rabi al Awwal 1448 Hijrah
(24th August 2026)
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