Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Muslim cleric acting as a self-appointed middleman to bandits has blamed Nigerian separatist leaders, Sunday Adeyemo ‘Igboho’ and Nnamdi Kanu for the “Fulani debacle in Southern Nigeria”.
Gumi argued that kidnap incidences and killings linked to some criminal elements among Fulanis residing in Southwest Nigeria for which Igboho banked on to issue eviction notice to the nomadic tribe from northern Nigeria is not sufficient reason to call for the break up of Nigeria.
Gumi made this fresh remark at a recent online Forum he participated in, themed: “Islam and the Special Role of Religious Leaders in Peacemaking in the Banditry Crisis in Northwest Nigeria”. Videos from the session were posted on his known Facebook page on Thursday.
“And another thing I noticed in the South is that there is a disparity between the level of education and know-how. And when you have such disparity, conflict can never end because people can hardly understand each other.
“So the Fulani debacle in the Southern Nigeria, it is capitalised by the secessionist movements of Kanu and Igboho as one of the causes of the agitation for separation. Evidentially, the crisis is another fallout of this same crisis. It’s just small screen: how many Fulani people have kidnapped people that will warrant secession? How many Fulani were massacred and killed in these states that will warrant secession?” Gumi asked rhetorically.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Gumi has been critical of President Muhammadu Buhari’s perceived mismanagement of the security crisis, which in turn provoked a backlash from the authorities and politicians from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as well as some religious groups.
Since the beginning of the year, Sheikh Gumi has met several bandit leaders to “dissuade them from their militancy”.
