Oyo 101: The Bad Thing About Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s Visitation To Igboho !! By Muftau Gbadegesin
Oyo 101: The Bad Thing About Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s Visitation To Igboho !! By Muftau Gbadegesin.
The controversial antecedents of popular Kaduna based preacher, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has made him an unwelcome visitor to the Southern part of the country, where he is seen as the unofficial spokesman for the dreaded bandits and particularly the Yorubaland, where the notorious killer herders have wreaked havoc on innocent lives and properties. Gumi’s gall where giant Nigeria security apparatus stalled first made surprising and shocking headlines on the 3rd of February, 2021 after his foray into the criminals hideouts. His subsequent interventions and advocacy for blanket amnesty for the outlaws made a hero of him among the criminals and a villain of bandit victims.
While Nigerian intelligence appears helpless in tracing and tracking bandits location, Sheikh Gumi and his delegation’s triumphant entry into the Sububu forest and Pakai forest in Zamfara state where he met over five hundred bandits left many stunned and gob-smacked. Indeed, the continuous bromance, moral supports and justifications for the nefarious activities of banditry in the North even earned him the moniker: peace negotiator. Had Gumi being a Southerner, calling for the criminals to be pardoned and pampered, the reverse would have been the case. He might have been cooling his feet inside the prison for romancing and mollycoddling criminals who have brought excruciating pain to the lives of ordinary Nigerians. That a Gumi could walk freely and audaciously around the country while his bandit brothers dealt a huge blow on Nigeria cooperate existence shows the irony and hypocrisy of Nigeria rulers. In a way, Gumi is today, the face of everything wrong with and in Nigeria: hypocrisy, nepotism, tribalism, impunity, and jingoism.
Who would have expected a Gumi in the Southwest, with his brothers and media apparatus? And especially in Oyo state which suffered more than any other Southwest states in farmer and herders confrontations. Or who would have thought of such day light effrontery? Nobody except himself. Although, Gumi has all the freedom in the world to roam the streets and creeks of Nigeria, he himself seems aware of the danger he poses to the peaceful co-existence of the country and thus has maintained a somewhat distance relationship with the rest of the Nation. So, when the News hits the airwave about Gumi’s appearance in a one minute forty five seconds video at Modeke area of Igboho alongside his delegations, the country home of the Yoruba Nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho, there was a palpable apprehension around the town and beyond. What is the bandit negotiator looking for in Yorubaland?
The viral video of Sheikh Gumi, clad in his tiny turban alongside that of the sacked NHIS CEO, Professor Usman Yusuf raised dusts and generated heated debate around the town’s safety and security. Rhetorical question bordering on how they entered into the town without the prior knowledge of leaders in the community kept tongues wagging for days until it was discovered they were just passerby who stop over pretending to be tending to their faulty vehicles. They were coming from Ilesha Baruba, in Kwara North Senatorial district where they attended a ceremony.
In a sense, there are many interpretations and connotations to Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s visitation to Igboho, the headquarters of Oorelope local government area. But before then, let me clarify a point: all Nigerians irrespective of their region or religion is entitled to freedom of movement. Having understood this, we can begin to explore Gumi’s motive in the town since he has spent most of his life in the hotbed of banditry: kaduna.
To start with, I think the bottom line of Sheikh Gumi’s from what he said and that of his brother, Professor Yusuf is the idea of a unified albeit polarized, disenchanted and divided country. In the short clip, Gumi contented that what he has seen in the town shows that agitation for a separate country (i.e Oduduwa Republic) from Nigeria is unwarranted. That the faster we realize the need to stay together as an indivisible country, the better. He also pointed to his fictitious cattle grazing which he pointed to because there were cattle roaming about the school, i.e Muslim Grammar School premises, and which he believes symbolizes the unity of the country — and importantly that the community has exemplified how people should live together in peace and harmony and unity. Gumi’s gambit worked for the simple reason that he uploaded the video of his visit almost forty eight (48) hours after it was recorded. He seems scared of the repercussions his audacity might elicit should he informed the people of his presence.
In his remarks to Zamfara bandits reported by Sahara Reporters, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi said everything he was doing was being funded by a foundation and with the help of other well-meaning individuals and not the government. From this self-confession, we can begin to connect the dots of Gumi’s audacity and the reason he’s defied all odds, and yet to be put behind bars for his overt and covert support for the terrorists. In other words, the coming of Gumi and his delegations to Igboho was well planned and executed and must have had the backing of his oft touted foundation and closely, his friends in government – who continue to shield him from the long arm of the law. That means Gumi is not alone and that should bother us all.
There are genuine reasons the likes of Chief Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi kanu took up the gauntlets of asking for a separate country from Nigeria. One of such is the likes of Gumi whose supports for criminal is being shrug off because he is from a section of the country and appears unctouchable. What better example to describe blatant injustice and double standard than this? Except this kind of unacceptable treatment of all citizens is stopped, there is no way the idea of one Nigeria will work.
The time for unnecessary palpable apprehension should by now be over. What is needed across board is a concerted efforts aim at stemming the tide that may accompany Gumi’s audacious visit. I think we know that Igboho in particular and Oyo state in general was aware of what the killer herders are capable of. And now that their cheerleader has registered his presence among us, we must stay hyper vigilant at all time. The people must also know that now and moving forward, security is everybody’s business. When you see something, say something and do something.
OYO101, Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion on issues affecting Oyo State, is published on Saturdays. He can be reached via muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com and 09065176850.
