By Eric Elezuo
The way eminent Islamic scholar from the North West, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has been parading himself over the much talked about attacks in his jurisdiction, and his obvious romance with the perpetrators have continued to raise eyebrows and elicited a lot of questions from well meaning Nigerians.
Days past, the cleric was spotted in the forest, where he was having a meeting with ‘bandits’ whose appearance left not so much to imagine. Days later while nigerians were still trying to get the question of ‘what was he doing there’ out of their months, the Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State was raided, and one innocent student was killed while another 27 others were abducted. Their whereabouts are yet unknown.
But as if that was not enough, it was again reported that the Islamic scholar had met with abductors of the staff and students of school. The meeting, according to reports took place at Tagina Forest in Niger State penultimate Friday.
Pictures that trailed the report showed bandits wielding their guns, under the leadership of one Dogo Gide and Sheik Gumi appealing to them to give peace a chance.
The bandits attacked the school on Wednesday, February 17, killed one of the students and abducted 27 of them. The bandits also abducted 3 staff of the school and 12 family members of the staff.
Thereafter, the sheikh visited Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Bello, over the abduction of students and members of staff, at the Government House in Minna to brief him on the outcome of the meeting with the bandits. Everything spoke the language of not just a go-between, but an integral part of the bandits. Nigerians are asking, is the sheikh a bandit? Where so much visitation and knowledge of their whereabouts?
Recall that the governor was somewhere in the South West fighting the cause of Fulani herdsmen, and welcoming a decampee to his party. Some Nigerians have said he was busy gallivanting while his house burns. He has however shut down all boarding schools in the bandit-ravaged areas.
When he spoke to the press, Gumi said, “The outcome is very positive because if you have warring factions and each faction says that I have complaints and grievances which are very simple, I think there is hope.”
The attack on the Kagara school happened a few months after bandits kidnapped over 300 schoolboys from Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, among many other high profile and large number abductions that have taken place in between.
The Kankara incident happened in December exactly on the same day the President visited his home town in Daura, also in Katsina. The event happened under the nose of Mr President.
So if Gumi knows the whereabouts and modus operandi of the terrorists, why don’t the security operatives, and why has been difficult for the eminent cleric to share his intelligence with the security apparatuses so that the issues of banditry, kidnappings and killings can be reduced if not wiped out completely.
Aside from Kankara and Kagara, non-state actors had also abducted hundreds of secondary school girls from Chibok, in Borno State; and Dapchi in Yobe State. Some of them eventually regained freedom while a number of them were detained in the enclaves of their abductors and sexual abusers.
This is not to the time to play hide and seek with known killers. The young lad whose life was brutally snuffed out during the operation at Kagara was somebody’s son, brother and relation.
Mallam Gumi owes Nigerians a duty to expose those fueling the flame of banditry in the country, except of course he is benefitting greatly from romancing with the criminals. Nigerians need answers!
