A Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh (Dr) Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, was quoted as saying: \u201cI Pity Nigeria\u2019s Next President\u201d, recently. He was also quoted as saying that the terrorists operating in Nigeria were being paid some enviable remunerations as daily allowances by their unnamed sponsors or financiers. So far there has been no official record that security agencies have had some interactions with the notable cleric as they did with late Dr Obediah Mailafia.
\nOne of the rules of engagement in security affairs is that one should see and know more than what one gives away. Sheikh Gumi has given away much more in the recent past with regard to the activities of bandits and terrorists that an obvious conclusion would be that he sees and knows more. That he should express pity for next President of Nigeria means that he knows that the future is bleak. Those who have followed his body language and utterances would conclude that he has passion and sympathy for the cause which motivates the insurgents.
\nPatriotism demands that all hands must contribute their individual quotas towards an up-building of the nation. If truth must be said, when former President Goodluck Jonathan sought for a dialogue with Boko Haram insurgents, a key representative mentioned by the nebulous group, was the current President and one other person. Unfortunately such dialogue did not take place.
\nNow, the security situation in the country is getting worse, with more brazen exploits from ISWAP and other groups of unknown gun men. A report published by Nigeria Watch stated that \u201cViolence Claims 13,537 Lives in Nigeria in one year\u201d (2021, alone): ref. The Tide; Wednesday, August 3, 2022, front page. With such scary security situation, would a responsible government not explore every possible means to get to the root of the disturbing phenomenon? Surely, one of such measures would include extracting more information from the likes of Sheikh Gumi.
\nMore interestingly, Sheikh Gumi had been known to interact regularly with the groups of insurgents, to the extent of saying that calling them terrorists is irritating to them. Perhaps the insurgents have a better road map of how to move the nation forward, which would not require acts of banditry to be able to state their case and ideas on a round table. Does it require violence, bloodshed and hostage-taking, to put forward better alternatives of building up Nigeria? Which way forward, Nigeria!
\nTherefore, a vital question for Sheikh Gumi is: What is the primary, legitimate demand of various insurgent groups linked with Islam? Can Gumi please take on the task of articulating the cause, mission and grouse of the insurgent groups and then bring them up for a healthy public debate? Is Sheikh Gumi comfortable that Islam of which he is a prominent figure is associated with acts of terrorism, violence and banditry?
\nIt would not be enough for Sheikh Gumi to tell us that \u201cNigeria is suffering from diseases including leprosy, diabetes and HIV\/AIDS\u201d. Can that be the reason why he expresses pity for the next president of Nigeria? According to him, leprosy as a disease attacks the sensory nervous system, rendering the brain \u201cunaware of the suffering of the extremities\u201d. With the presidency representing the brain, inability to get the \u201ctrue picture of the grassroots suffering and the excruciating poverty breaking the masses\u201d, is the key problem of Nigeria, hunger and anger in the land!
\nThe above scenario is quite a valid diagnosis of Nigeria\u2019s ailment, coming from cleric Gumi; but there is more to the Nigerian situation than that. Long ago, a few discerning Nigerians saw a strategy of pursuing some hidden, sectional agenda in the Nigerian project. The pattern had been to let na\u00efve ones work on, and some smart ones would throw spanners into the work, when their agenda are sidelined. A second question of a vital nature to Sheikh Gumi is: Is the speculation of \u201cIslamisation and Fulanisation agenda\u201d untenable or false?\u00a0 Was Obasanjo wrong?
\nShortly before the end of his tenure as President Goodluck Jonathan\u2019s regime organised a national conference, involving huge sums of money, with the intention to reposition Nigeria for the better. Would Sheikh Gumi be kind enough to tell Nigerians, those who threw spanners into that endeavour? What were at the back of the minds of those who played the spoilers\u2019 game? And why?
\nThe common saying that a house divided against itself rarely stands stable, is quite valid, and applies aptly to Nigeria as a nation. A third vital question for Sheikh Gumi is: Is it true or false that a section of this country tends to use religion as a weapon or an instrument for political and economic hegemony? Why the hysteria about Sharia Law during Olusegun Obasanjo\u2019s presidency?
\nSheikh Gumi\u2019s analogy of Nigeria being diabetic whereby \u201cabundant sugar produced in the body but does not get into the body tissues for metabolism\u201d, hits the nail at the head, with reference to Nigeria\u2019s political economy. Would Sheikh Gumi deny the fact that the parasitic nature of the Nigerian economy was not a deliberate social engineering work? Who were the masterminds or architects? Who are the groaning victims of such smart plans?
\nOil and gas as mineral products comparable to the abundant sugar produced in the body, are under the \u201ctotal control of the Fulanis\u201d, according to one Uthman Umar Sokoto. Why is the suggestion of organising a referendum to decide on the way forward for Nigeria, such an abomination, causing some Nigerians to be glittery? Such agitators are terrorists.
\nCurrent situation does not call for fear to open the can of ugly worms, neither must we continue to pretend or divert attention away from the issues of vexation. For the people of the Niger Delta the vexation is the privatisation of their natural resources, despite the new Petroleum Industry Act.\u00a0 The Shenanigans are over!<\/p>\n

By:Bright Amirize<\/p>\n

Dr Amirize is a\u00a0retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh (Dr) Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, was quoted as saying: \u201cI Pity Nigeria\u2019s Next President\u201d, recently. He was also quoted as saying that the terrorists operating in Nigeria were being paid some enviable remunerations as daily allowances by their unnamed sponsors or financiers. So far there has been no official record that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n