On Gumi’s arduous and dangerous undertaking

BY AMIRU HALILU

“Forgiving a terrorist is left to God, but fixing their appointment with God is our responsibility.” – Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain

For a while now, the Kaduna-based and well-respected Islamic scholar, Ahmad Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi, has been a dominant figure in Nigeria’s media space for leading off a rather arduous and dangerous undertaking. Since the time he finally relocated to Nigeria in 2013 after successful completion of his study at Umm al-Qura University Saudi Arabia, Gumi has been a powerful and outspoken advocate of good governance in Nigeria as well as a staunch critic of bad government policies. He always makes his opinion known even if it will disillusion his core followers, and he never backs down in the face of threats, pressure, criticism perhaps, even if it means risking his life.

His insatiable desire for the creation of a system founded in justice, equity and peace that protects individual’s rights and civil liberties is noticeable and understood. Unlike others, Gumi is not a hypocrite; his sincereness, openheartedness and straightforwardness earned him admiring appraisal and envious respect.

Nevertheless, despite his stable personality traits, I strongly disagree with the noble cause he is currently championing this time around. In fact, I have been asking what prompted Gumi to invest his energy in this unproductive cause. Though, his unquestionable patriotism may have been the answer to my rhetorical question.

Gumi takes it upon himself to voluntarily act as a peace broker between the government and the so-called bandits just to bring an end to banditry in the northern region. But, that will certainly not augur well for his reputation as well as the nation’s image.

I’m so concerned about his well established reputation, and it will be terrible to see him falling in the trap of our political system — full of single issue hypocrites; who can’t act in an adult fashion. Likewise, it will be equally painful to allow himself to be deceived by those who have no respect for human life, much less a gentleman-agreement. Gumi is sincerely trying to work out a peace deal between Nigeria’s leaders and bandits.

Any government that denies its citizens equal educational opportunity, sound healthcare delivery system, pipe-borne water, constant electric power supply, good networking road and fails woefully to protect their lives and property, and finally reduced them to undignified beggars in their place of birth, that government is an amalgamation of crooks, villains and fraudsters. Government was formed across the globe to avert drifting into an anarchic state. Regrettably, ours falls short of this mandate; we have been putting forward rogues who get to office to serve their own personal interests at the behest of national interest.

Why do we continue fooling ourselves? After all, we all know that it was bad governance that breeds the act of terrorism, banditry, kidnerpping, armed-robbery and so on across Nigeria. Thus, I wonder what kind of magic Gumi can perform to baptise a government that is so specialised in abrogating its responsibilities and famous in reneging on social contract or agreement to honour the condition given by these dangerous species.

Even though the Nigerian government had since lost its power of coercion to non-state actors, yet, inviting bandits or terrorists to a negotiating table will illustrate the level of the anarchical state the nation is drifting into under the Buhari-led administration. And that would be a motivating factor for others who were initially so skeptical to join the groups to carry arms and fully indulge in this unlawful business.

When negotiation with these murderers becomes the only recourse for government, then it has officially forsaken its function as an apparatus of coercion and compulsion. God forbid, Nigeria will soon become a leaderless nation; a home of homicide, where every kind of dangerous weapon would litter our streets.

These notorious criminals put forward inequities, injustice, and claimed to have been neglected by the government in justification of killings and maiming innocent people. This senseless notion was dismissed with reasonable justification, as just another bit of lame excuse and immoral panic propaganda. If their argument is cogent and appealing, ninety percent of Nigerians would have carry arms and begin to kill because no single Nigerian is being taken care of by the government or not being neglected by the government in this “rotten-to-the-core” country except those who have been in the corridor of power.

Therefore, whatever reason these murderers will table to justify their heinous crimes, they must be punished in accordance with the law of the land. Because the innocent souls they have been killing are not the cause of their anger; they are not the reason why things are not working in Nigeria. Yet, they chose to transfer their aggression to the same victims of government insensitivity and criminality.

Gumi wouldn’t have begun this fruitless exercise if he recalls that the country lacks the cohesiveness of clear and decisive leadership. And it’s the absence of the aforementioned that has thrown the nation into a precarious balance, and a state of undecided unease. Should Gumi recall that these murderers subjected thousands of families into severe agony, he would have put his energy in something more productive.

Finally, I will like to advise Gumi to make good use of his time in his library, rather than mediating between an insensitive government and notorious criminals.

Halilu writes from Kaduna and can be reached through haliluamiru@gmail or @AmiruHalilu