VIDEO: Gumi hits Buhari over Kano wedding

Ahmad Gumi, prominent Islamic scholar, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari over his presence at the wedding of Fatima, daughter of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, and Idris, the son of Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo state governor.

Senate President Bukola Saraki and 22 governors were also at the elaborate wedding which took place in Kano on Saturday.

In a message, the cleric advised government officials against living in flamboyance at the expense of the masses.

Gumi, who spoke in Hausa, said he did not keep quiet when a similar thing happened during the tenure of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

“The vice-president of the previous administration (Namadi Sambo) married out his daughters in this place that you are seated. Governors and all former top government functionaries gathered in this place,” he said.

“Everybody was here except the president (Goodluck Jonathan). At that time, there were bomb explosions here and there by Boko Haram. There were bomb explosions in Jaji (military cantonment), Sokoto etc. I tried to explain to them that it shouldn’t be during weddings only that Muslims can meet. I told them that the problems that are facing the people should also be a basis for bringing us together.

“Why? No matter how important you feel about yourself, you are not as important as the prophet…..(some phrases, quotations from the Qur’an). The woman whose wedding is conducted in a simple manner without hardship is more blessed. The Prophet married, he also gave out his daughters. He didn’t gather a large crowd because his daughters were getting married.

“Today, we have many channels of communication (radio, television, Facebook). You don’t need to gather a large crowd for a wedding… if a governor or president or minister attends the wedding, it is ‘Haram’ (prohibited) because their time, wealth and everything is for the government.”

Decrying the hardship in the land, Gumi said the money spent on such trip could have been used to improve the lot of the common man.

He narrated how someone had to sell her property to be able to raise a little amount for her child’s education.

“As I am talking to you now, a woman called me, she was crying, she could not afford N8,000 to pay for a room for her son who got admission at ABU (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria),” the cleric said.

“She said she sold all her possessions to secure admission for him and she is looking for N8,000 for his accommodation. Look at our governors chattering a flight to a wedding! Whose wedding?

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“The reason why I am saying this is because I preached against it during the previous government. I am not saying this for any political reason, I am repeating what I told people in the former administration. If leaders indulge in immorality and are not bothered about the people, God will not be happy with them. They are not afraid of God and nobody is preaching to them.”

Gumi said the war against insurgency has not been won because of the “mispriority” of those in power.

“That is why it has not been possible to eliminate Boko Haram. You can only finish with Boko Haram with a pious heart, it is only when we indulge in good deeds that God would be pleased with us and save us from the calamity of Boko Haram,” he said.

“If we continue with this our sinful and destructive attitude, God will allow them to continue to deal with us…
After spending millions of naira, they came and said the dowry is N50,000. It is not N50,000 because anything that you will have to do before the girl is given to you is part of the dowry.

“How can you chatter an aircraft to a wedding when people are suffering, their children have no scholarship, people are dying in the hospitals because there are no drugs and there is hunger. This is not about politics, it is about preaching to them…

“God will ask them to account for the public trust. If a student drops out of school because he has no scholarship, God will ask them questions. If somebody dies in the hospital because of lack of drugs, God will judge them.
What they (governors) are doing is against Shariah. We must not see things like this and keep quiet.”