Gumi’s unwarranted attacks on Wike and Nigeria’s fragile unity

Controversial Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Abubakar Gumi stirred the hornets’ nest recently when he angrily described the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Minister, Nyesom WIke an unbeliever and for that reason, should be sacked forthwith by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, barely two months after the former Rivers state governor assumed office alongside other cabinet members.

Not done yet with his parochial campaign of calumny, which we strongly condemn, the Muslim leader delved into another sensitive area he is totally ignorant about- national security and alluding to the fact that Christians who head security agencies cannot be trusted with such responsibility because of the killing of some northern past leaders by southern officers during military coups in the past.

But on the contrary, according to records, more innocent blood was shed under the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, when all the security agencies were headed by Muslim northerners than any under government in Nigeria’s history in peace time.

In fact, the Nigeria Security Tracker, NST, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Africa programme, no fewer than 63,111 people were lost to terrorism, banditry, herders/farmers clashes, communal crises, cult clashes and extra-judicial killings among others between 2015 and May 29, 2023.

We note with serious concern that the cleric, in the inflammatory video sermon of over 14 minutes posted on his official Facebook page, labelled Nyesom Wike as “Satan” for receiving the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman in his Abuja office and further threatened that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be stopped from serving a second term after his current tenure.

And in what we consider totally disgusting and unbecoming of a religious leader of his standing, he rained curses on citizens who campaigned vociferously to enthrone the Muslim-Muslim ticket of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as worthless hypocrites and money-mongers who chased dollars for pleasure and worldly purposes. In other words, the North should have retained the Presidency after the eight years rule by Buhari, a regime that brought so much pains and deaths to Nigerians.

Regrettably too, those who see nothing wrong in Gumi’s reckless utterances claimed that he was exercising his fundamental human right to freedom of expression as guaranteed in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impact ideas and information without interference”. They also pointed out that Wike was wrong when upon assuming office as minister of the FCT, hinted of collaborating with Israeli government to boost security in the territory.

Going ahead to invite the ambassador of Israel to his office at a time the Jewish nation is fighting Hamas in Gaza and killing civilians, in their biased view is tantamount to an arrogant display of power, manifestation of gross insensitivity, abuse of the trust reposed in him, usurpation of presidential powers and capable of sending wrong signals to the international community as Nigeria’s official endorsement of Israel’s atrocities.

But we completely disagree with such arguments and unequivocally condemn Gumi’s hateful sermon as these are capable of breeding disunity and generating avoidable crisis in the country. The anti-Wike forces including Gumi should realize that one’s tribe or religion are not criteria in the appointment of ministers into the Federal Executive Council but pedigree, character and track record of performance which the immediate past Rivers governor known as Mr. Projects during his tenure.

Consequently, we believe that asking Mr. President to sack him on the basis of sentiments barely two months into his tenure is not only unjustifiable, reckless and unacceptable but must be resisted by all lovers of democracy.

Similarly, the open threat of denying the President of seeking re-election portrays Gumi as promoting a parochial and ethnic agenda which should be condemned by all at a time that citizens are yet to fully recover from the bitter and divisive campaigns precedent to the 2023 general elections especially the Presidential poll, whose outcome was recently resolved by the Supreme Court. The cleric, to the best of our knowledge is not a card-carrying member of the leading political parties in the country.

In our view therefore, it is unfortunate, irresponsible, absurd, and subversive, on part of any individual, when all well-meaning Nigerians should be concerned about the continued stability, peace, and unity of the country, given the overwhelming security challenges witnessed under the Buhari era, to in apparent furtherance of selfish and parochial interests bebent on stoking the embers of disunity and hatred in the land.

Gumi must realize that Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians and not a sectional capital, developed and continues to be developed with, mainly, revenues from  oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta region, where Wike hails from. This reason even makes the incumbent minister eminently qualified for the position which successive administrations from the Second Republic of late President Shehu Shagari    encouraged  all citizens, no matter their state of origin to acquire and develop property in Abuja.

We consider it unfortunate and grave injustice to the people of southern Nigeria that though Wike is the 17th Minister of the FCT, he is only the second Southerner to be so appointed in 47 years, since the creation of the FCT in 1976 while the first non-Northerner to occupy the position was Mobolaji Ajose-Adeogun, who recently passed on at 96 and served as Minister between 1976 and 1979, under the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo.

Rather than vilify him, President Tinubu should be commended for his patriotism and political will to have appointed another Southerner, as the FCT Minister after over four decades even as we encourage all  patriots and true lovers of the nation, particularly of northern extraction, without equivocation, to denounce the dangerous diatribes of Sheikh Gumi and those of his likes, in the national interest.

Above all, we demand that the security agencies should invite and interrogate the cleric for his provocative outbursts and be told in clear terms that this country belongs to all of Nigerians and should not harbor such notion that one section is superior to the other. He should to distract the minister from implementing his mandate of restoring Abuja to its initial master plan for the benefit of all residents irrespective of political leaning, religion or tribe and future generations.

Gumi, who before now was noted for making a strong case for pardon for killer herdsmen and bandits across the country and negotiating payment of ransom for the release of kidnapped victims in all intent and purposes missed the point when he declared that “Muslims should not be comfortable with non-Muslims appointed to head the security agencies can’t be trusted to be fair to all groups”. We dare say that Nigerians are living witnesses of the widespread killings by non-state actors and  horrible results of the eight years of President Buhari when all security agencies were in the hands of Gumi’s Muslim stock.

For instance today  the entire North West, North East  and North Central geo-political zones remain war zones and havens for kidnappers, bandits, insurgents and terrorists and other criminal elements, which contradicts Gumi’s myopic standpoint. Rather, appointments must only be based on competence and track record of unblemished service to father land and not on religious or ethnic considerations as canvassed by the cleric in order not to endanger Nigeria’s continued unity and national security.

For a better society

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