Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has called for the establishment of a ministry of nomadic affairs to oversee all matters concerning herdsmen in the country. This is even as he denied having sympathy for bandits.
Apparently reacting to someone who called him a bandit-lover, Gumi, on his verified Facebook page on Friday morning, wrote an article titled ‘War Has Never Been a Solution Anywhere, Anytime’ where he denied ever harbouring or having sympathy or love for bandits.
He said is a patriotic Nigerian who loves his country, his region, his state, his people and humanity as a whole.
The cleric wrote: “You bootlicker that called me a banditlover, I am not one but my country-lover, my region-lover, my state-lover, my peoplelover and humanity-lover.”
He said that as a medical professional, he was trained to excise a brain tumour without destroying the tissues, adding that as a former military officer, he also knows what a military action entails and as a cleric, he is well-positioned to speak out against injustice when he sees one.
“I am a qualified medical doctor who knows what it takes to precisely excise a brain tumour without destroying the delicate surrounding brain tissues. I was a commissioned military officer who knows what the military is for and what the capability of our military is. I am an intellectual with a PhD from abroad.
“I am an Islamic scholar who knows the immorality of killing innocent lives. So, silence, for me, in this ocean of oblivion, is not an option. He noted that the action of the government against bandits amounts to killing rats with an iron rod in a room filled with rats. He cautioned against military action against bandits, claiming that politicians had benefitted much from the Fulani banditry that plagued the country.
“Only a fool would allow his dwelling to be a theatre of war. Unfortunately, how many fools are there? Killing rats in your rat-infested sitting room with an iron rod will end up destroying your gadgets and furniture probably without killing any [rats]. We should not mask our poor governance with artillery power.
“Some disingenuous people say, ‘peace and negotiations with herdsmen and bandits have failed and your mission has failed’. I say 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.”
Gumi also reiterated his call for the rehabilitation of bandits and for the creation of a ministry for herdsmen.