Television viewers across the globe will have the opportunity to watch Sultan of Sokoto, Muahammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, on this weekend’s edition of CNN’s African Voices, sponsored by Nigerian telecommunication giants, Globacom.

Sultan Abubakar will be the star guest on the programme which runs on Saturdays, from 9.30 to 10.00 a.m. and 3.30 to 4.00 p.m. There are also repeat broadcasts on Sunday from 9 .00 to 10.30 a.m. and 10.30 p.m. to 11.00 a.m. and on Monday from 11.30 to 12.00 p.m. and 6.30 to 7.00 p.m.

The Sultan was born on August 24, 1956 in Sokoto  and is the 20th Sultan of Sokoto . He is the titular ruler of Sokoto in northern Nigeria , the head of Jama’atu Nasril Islam  (Society for the Victory of Islam – JNI) and the president-general of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).

As Sultan of Sokoto, he is considered the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s millions of Muslims . On November 2, 2006, Sa’adu Abubakar succeeded his brother, Mohammadu Maccido , who died in a plane crash. He is also a younger son of the 17th Sultan, Siddiq Abu Bakar dan Usuman , who held the Sultanate for over fifty years.

Sultan Abubakar had a distinguished military career which began in 1975. He was commissioned a second lieutenant two years later. After that, he served in the elite Armoured Corps.  He did military training overseas, including in India and Canada. He headed a presidential security unit of the Armoured Corps that guarded  the then military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida  in the late 1980s.

Abubakar also commanded a battalion of African peacekeepers in Chad during the early 1980s as part of the Organisation of African Unity ‘s force and was military liaison officer for the West African regional body ECOWAS  in the mid 1990s. In addition to that, he served with West Africa’s peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone and was Nigeria’s military attaché to Pakistan when he was recalled to take office as the 20th Sultan of Sokoto.

A statement from the Marketing Communications Department of Globacom said the company is delighted to bring the Sultan to millions of viewers across the globe. It explained that the choice of Abubakar as guest on “African Voices” was in line with the programme’s objective to showcase successful and high-profile African personalities who are shaping the continent.

Globacom said Abubakar will, in this weekend’s episode of African Voices, talk to CNN about his reign, religious issues and how his experiences in the military have prepared him for his current role.

The programme has featured several prominent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in their different fields.

They include Kase Lawal, owner of CAMAC, a global oil considered to be one of the largest black-owned businesses in the United States, footballers Joseph Yobo and John Utaka, singer Nneka Egbuna and recently Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.