Northern Coalition Clears Air on Gumi’s Comment on Killings

A coalition of Northern elders under the aegis of North East Elders for Peace and Development has said the recent comments made by Sheikh Abubakar Gumi should not be associated with them. They blasted the Islamic cleric for being an agent to bandits in forests across Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, and the Niger States.

The group revealed this in a statement by its Coordinator, Zana Goni, on Wednesday. Gumi had alleged that non-Muslim soldiers had carried out orchestrated killings in some communities, leading to anger.

He said, “What I want you people to understand is, soldiers that are involved in most of the criminalities are not Muslims. You know, soldiers have Muslims and none Muslims. The non-Muslims are the ones causing confusion just to ignite a crisis,” he told a delegation led by the Secretary to the Niger State Government on a negotiation mission for the release of the kidnapped Kagara students.

The coalition, however, noted that Gumi’s allegations should be seen as “his personal sentiments” as that was not a popular opinion of the region.
HOWEVER, the NEEPD has said it would resist attempts by any individual or group to profile the military.

According to them, there is a need to condemn Gumi’s dangerous claims, which is not the region’s voice, in order not to give the impression that he was speaking for the area.

It noted that “By his statement, the said Gumi may be justifying armed banditry and all that was associated with the crime.”

The group said it is Shocked to have an Islamic cleric and scholar taking sides with bandits, as his statements suggest.

The NEEPD said, “As Northern elders committed to a united and indivisible nation, we hasten to condemn in emphatic terms the allegations made against the Nigerian military by one of our leading Islamic scholars, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi.

“We rise in one voice to dissociate ourselves from the dangerous and divisive allegations levelled against our patriotic soldiers by Sheikh Gumi, in one of his missions to meet with bandits in a forest around Niger State.
“Ordinarily, we would have commended the Sheikh for daring to do what authorities failed, but for the profiling comments attributed to him, which we consider abhorrent and unhelpful to national development and peace.
“We warn that comments such as this have the potential of pitting the exposed soldiers against general areas in the North, where they have continued to put down their lives to protect the territorial integrity of the nation from those that seek to violate it.

“Our concern is further hinged on the possibility of the world, concluding that the North may be offering tacit endorsement to banditry and associated crimes against society.

“To douse this tension, therefore, we call on relevant authorities, including prominent individuals and groups from the North, to condemn Gumi’s position in a manner that will absolve the region of conspiracy and vicarious liability, in the long run.

“In whatever position we find ourselves, we must, at all material times, endeavour to put the collective interest of Nigeria over and above all other considerations, bearing in mind the fact that when the country collapses, it will do so on all of us, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or belief.

“Lastly, we urge Gumi to stop approbating and reprobating at the same time, and to immediately call-off his mission, if he has developed lethargy in the course of undertaking visits to deep forests.”