Banditry: Sheikh Gumi Slams Politicians As Worst Species

• Says more Nigerians die from official thievery, negligence

BY SEGUB ADEBAYO – Fearless Islamic preacher and scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, has slammed some Nigerian politicians as being worse than bandits, insisting that more citizens have lost their lives due to the government’s mismanagement of resources than banditry.

Not ready to shy away from stoking controversies, Sheikh Gumi said on the ground are facts to support that Nigerians have died more from cholera and other deadly diseases because of government negligence and lack of clean potable water across the country.

In an opinion piece on his Facebook page titled, ‘War has never been a solution anywhere, anytime’, Gumi said; “Some of the politicians, who I see as urban-bandits, out of their share mismanagement of our meagre resources and misplacement of priority, cause the death and infirmity of more people than the effect of bandits.

“Of recent, how many Nigerians die of cholera – a water-borne disease – because of lack of simple clean water to drink, or typhoid, malaria, and malnutrition?

“A nation with a maternal mortality rate of almost 500,000 per annum because of the lack of adequate maternal health facilities and qualified staff. A country where its highly-priced medical personnel are looking for a window to escape the inferno. Such a country, please!”

The write-up, which seems to suggest Gumi’s displeasure about the killings of some bandits by military officers in the country, said his ‘peace mission’ has regrettably been misunderstood and ultimately sabotaged by some influential people that may be benefitting from the bandits’ escapades in the country.

According to him; “Some disingenuous people say, ‘Peace and negotiations with herdsmen, bandits have failed, and your mission has failed!’ I said my mission has not failed but it was sabotaged or discouraged by the same influential people that benefit from the chaos or like us to destroy ourselves and leave the herdsmen in perpetual ignorance.”

Sheikh Gumi, who has continued to receive public knocks for his engagements and negotiations with bandits, said it was unjust that the Military turned around and killed repentant bandits.

“Some said we have tried amnesty but it didn’t work. You didn’t try amnesty but tried amnesia. Amnesty without rehabilitation, reconciliation and reparation is no amnesty.

“Ask the former Niger Delta militants who killed security men in the past what an amnesty is. What stops us from having a Federal Ministry of Nomadic Affairs where their grievances and complaints would be addressed?”

Further expressing unhappiness at the military action, the Islamic Scholar said; “All the bandit leaders we saw complained of how some repentant ones were picked and extra-judicially killed after they surrender of their weapons. Without their trust of the very unjust system all Nigerians complain of, which they took arms to fight, peace and negotiations with them will not work.

“This brings our role of mediation. They know as religious men we will not deceive them, and they came out in troops to meet us. To our astonishment, it is the same unjust system that turns round to betray our peace mission.”