Kaduna-based popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, is a renowned Islamic scholar. He is held in high esteem by many, most of who are adherents of the same faith with him. His position as a high ranking Islamic cleric and scholar put him in national limelight and people have often looked forward to his opinion on national issues.
In the wake of the heightened activities of outlaws and criminal elements whom the Nigerian society has curiously chosen to deodorize by labeling them ‘bandits’ instead of rightly calling them terrorists, Gumi imposed on himself the twin responsibilities of being their spokesman and their advocate.
In his attempt to perform these two apparently hard-to-believe and nauseating roles, he had gotten himself involved in actions and utterances which pitted him against the critical mass of the people. These days, he sounds very controversial (though he has always been) when the subject of discourse is bandits and their woe-be-gone activities.
Not long ago, Sheik Gumi alleged that Christians in the military’s counter-insurgency operations were responsible for the killing of bandits. He then indicated the direction in which the bandits should focus their attacks and activities. Such a volatile remark from a high ranking Muslim cleric and influential opinion molder has all the potentials of igniting a sectarian war within the military, an institution that knows no religion, ethnicity or geo-political of members. Happily, Nigerians in their millions and in no uncertain terms, rose in scathing condemnation of Gumi’s outbursts.
Last week, Gumi took his pro-bandits advocacy to a height many described as “dangerous”. He had vigorously canvassed for amnesty for the bandits in the wake of military onslaught on their hideouts in Zamfara State. His intervention which was in the form of advice was laced with dangerous threats and suggestive ideas that have all the trappings of incitement.
He sounded categorically sure that the only way out was to give a blanket amnesty to the bandits just the way it was done for Niger Delta agitators by late President Musa Yar’Adua. He warned that no amount of military operations can bring an end to the nefarious activities of the terrorists, who the society loves to call bandits. He even drew Nigerians’ attention to what just happened in Afghanistan and concluded that any more military action will force the bandits to now wear the toga of religious fanaticism.
That Nigerians are now ready to question his intentions and motives is no longer in doubt as prominent socio-cultural groups across the nation led the charge of rejecting his proposals and advice. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, through its national publicity secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, said there was no basis to grant amnesty to faceless criminals like the bandits.
“Boko Haram is an organised ideological movement but bandits are not organised. They are pure criminals. It is only when you have them organised that you can even talk about amnesty. When you talk about an amorphous group, you can’t be talking about amnesty,” Ogbonnia said.
For Ohanaeze Ndigbo, anybody talking about amnesty for bandits might just be trying to create an entirely new terrorist group. It indicated that Gumi was only trying to instigate the bandits into forming a recognizable group with an ideological slant for the purposes of having a bargaining platform with authorities.
“It is befuddling seeing a highly revered cleric standing stoutly behind outlaws, who wreak havoc on fellow humans without any iota of compunction”
In a similar way, Yerima Shetima, the president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, decried Gumi’s proposal. He opined that anyone who had been involved in arms struggle against the state should not be granted amnesty.
“I wouldn’t know what informed Gumi’s argument, but for me, I have always been against amnesty of any kind. Even before Yar’Adua offered amnesty to the Niger Delta boys, I am one of those voices in the north that opposed it on the ground that you don’t do that because when you do, every idiot will take up arms and begin to demand for amnesty. All of us could have at the end of the day taken up arms and gone into the forest to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians but we decided to be law abiding. So, there is no excuse for banditry. They should be dealt with according to the law otherwise; even the armed robbers in prisons should also be granted amnesty. Only Gumi knows why he is saying what he is saying but for me, anybody who has taken up arms against the state should be punished according to the law,” Shetima warned.
We find all these positions sensible, logical, and commendable and so adopt same.
For the records, the bandits Gumi wants amnesty for shot down an Air Force fighter jet recently; invaded Nigerian Defence Academy and killed two officers and abducted another senior officer. The same bandits have forced states in the North West to adopt very stringent policies that the people are barely managing to cope with. Schools are closed, telephony is interrupted, roads are closed, and petroleum products are rationed all because of their heinous crimes which matter little to Sheik Gumi.
We are at a loss concerning Gumi’s hard to explain conciliatory role with the bandits which carries the tone of appeasement and attempt to placate them. Rather than condemn their ungodly activities, he has been frantically justifying and exonerating them, while blaming the system, the environment and everyone else for their criminal activities, except the terrorists themselves.
It is befuddling seeing a highly revered cleric standing stoutly behind outlaws, who wreak havoc on fellow humans without any iota of compunction. It beggars belief that the same terrorists who invaded communities, schools, markets and places of worship to kidnap, injure, rape, kill and subjects families and governments to untold trauma and endless hours of agony while negotiating for ransom, with little or no consideration for what others feel, would be the object of sympathy and exoneration from crime by Sheik Gumi.
Initially, many thought that given his public figure image and his daring visit to the ‘den’ of the terrorists would mark the beginning of a new phase of de-escalation of their criminal activities. And when pictures of the cleric in a ‘feel at home’ posture with the bandits later surfaced in the public sphere, many actually aligned with and applauded his move. Unfortunately, they are now left to wonder what exactly was the motivation and objective of his intervention. As things stand today, Gumi’s utterances have helped in no small way in casting a pall of doubt on his motivation and intentions.
Let’s face it, Gumi’s insistence on amnesty for these outlaws he called “voiceless” and “downtrodden” can hardly be justified. We think it was high time he stopped this pro-terrorists advocacy.
