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Why Jonathan should resign – Sheikh Gumi

Weekly Trust: What are your views on the current security situation in the country? Sheikh Ahmad Gumi: The security situation in Nigeria is precarious, in…

Weekly Trust: What are your views on the current security situation in the country?
Sheikh Ahmad Gumi: The security situation in Nigeria is precarious, in the sense that one is left confused about what is actually happening in the country and who is behind it. The Boko Haram issue, especially the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls, has exposed the emptiness of our military. So, all the trillions that were said to have been spent on security and the state of emergency declared on the crisis-ridden states has yielded no results.
What we need to ask is why the government is deceiving Nigerians. Recently on CNN there was an interview with the father of one of the abducted Chibok girls. He said they engaged in the rescue of the girls up to about 80 kilometres into the bush, but they reached a point where locals told them that they should go back. He said the locals told them that they usually see helicopters dropping something into the bush, things nobody knows. It is only the government that has the capacity to conceal crime, and from all these revelations, it is clear somebody is concealing something.
Our Army is empty, they cannot fight. In fact, I read that there were military men around the school (GGSS Chibok), but there was no reaction when the girls were being abducted. Then Amnesty International came out to say that the Army was alerted before the abduction, but the Army came out to say that they were not. That alone is enough to indict the Army. This reason alone is supposed to make a responsible government resign. The military chiefs ought to have been retired in a civilised society. Therefore, for me, there is deliberate concealment on what is happening about this Boko Haram issue.
WT: How do you see the coming of foreign powers to assist in tackling the insurgency problem?
Sheikh Gumi: This is just compounding the issue, the fact that foreign powers are here to assist. In terms of intelligence, they don’t need to come to Nigeria because they have satellites and drones. The worst aspect of the coming of these Western powers is the invitation of Israel. Israel is a very controversial state. They have expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes, who are now living in camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. If a country that has the blood of innocent people in its hands is called upon to assist in fighting Boko Haram, then it’s mischievous.
WT: It seems that you’re laying a large share of the blame on government. But don’t you think that since Boko Haram is operating in the name of Islam, scholars like yourself should take blame?
Sheikh Gumi: No, because when you have irresponsible youths taking the law into their own hands without any justification, that cannot be blamed on Islam. The actions of these irresponsible persons are not surprising, because they do what they are doing not in the name of Islam. What is surprising is if a constituted authority decides to be doing exactly what these ignorant and irresponsible people are doing. 
If Boko Haram kills, they do that because they are criminals. But Amnesty International report says the Army tortured, incarcerated and maimed people in thousands. When Boko Haram attacked Giwa Barracks, look at the people that were released and subsequently killed. They were in hundreds, including women and children. Therefore, you can’t address this problem if you are not sincere with yourself. If the government was straight, the bandits would have been crushed a long time ago.
WT: But in the actual sense, does Islam sanction what Boko Haram is doing?
Sheikh Gumi: Islam has prophesied that when the end of world approaches, there would be some groups of youths who are bandits that would use the name of Islam to be committing atrocities. These youths would be reciting the Qur’an, but they don’t work with its teachings. They would be claiming Islam more than real Muslims, just as we are seeing now.
But the Prophet (pbuh) has proffered solutions on how to tackle those youths. One of the solutions is a strong government to fight them. A government that commits similar atrocities cannot do that. Look at what is happening now, for example, in Kaduna. We have soldiers all over the streets. What are they doing? Are they not supposed to be in Chibok looking for those girls? They are there only for political reasons. So, there are lies on the part of the government.
WT: You’ve said the Nigerian Army is empty, but haven’t trillions been sunk into that sector?
Sheikh Gumi: The emptiness has been shown to the world. A situation where some groups of bandits would load children into trucks, over the span of many hours without any reaction from the Army is the emptiness I’m talking about. Where is the vibrant Army that we used to know?
There was this interview on Voice of America (VOA) with an anonymous soldier who said the Army is out-manned and out-gunned. Apart from that, he disclosed that they are not being fed well, and other issues. This is the emptiness I’m talking about.
Apart from that, there is nepotism and every leader that comes chooses the person he likes. Merit has been put aside, and this usually entails the retirement of many capable hands. So, there is corruption and nepotism in the Army and this is why they cannot fight.
Then now they’ve brought in international forces, a move which has two consequences. One, there is a global terrorist network and it’s looking for a battle-ground to fight America and its allies. Therefore, the coming of these international forces has opened up Nigeria to become a battle-ground for the terrorists and the international forces. Islam does not support terrorism, in fact, as I said earlier, Islam has prophesied the coming of terrorism and it said that it should be dealt with. If a Muslim does something, you don’t attribute it to Islam. Otherwise all the atrocities committed by the Christians should be attributed to Christianity, but is wrong to do that because we know Christianity does not sanction that.
Secondly, can the failure of this government translate to condemnation of democracy? This government has really shown that democracy is not working, but can we condemn democracy because of the failure of this government? So, nobody should attribute what is happening to Islam.
WT: Some people are saying that the Nigerian Army has the capacity to fight Boko Haram, but they don’t have the right equipment and motivation…
Sheikh Gumi: Why do we have such situations? When you accept the offer of America and Britain, it is not for free. You have to pay them. We are going to pay them billions of dollars. So, why don’t you use this money to purchase the equipment for the Army instead of inviting foreigners?
Nigerian military has a good record in ensuring stability in other countries. Even in Nigeria, they fought a civil war and did very well in crushing that insurgency. In the Niger Delta, they did very well during Yar’adua’s time. So, it is an Army that is known to be very vibrant. Therefore we need to ask what happened to suddenly paralyze it.
The question of equipment ought not to have arisen because we have the money, but because there is concealment of facts, that is why we found ourselves in this situation.
WT: How do you think insurgency could be tackled?
Sheikh Gumi: If we want to get those girls out, we should assume that nothing has happened. We should assume that there’s no insurgency of Boko Haram. Therefore, we should release all of them in detention. When you release them, one of two things would happen. Some of them would likely retire from the insurgency while some may go back. If they release the children, then there is a level playing ground. They should then be asked to surrender, or we begin the real fighting. When I say real fighting, I don’t mean the type we are witnessing now where people are framed, where innocent people are taken into custody. I mean clean, all-out fighting. You can never win a war when you’re also dishing out atrocities. You have to be upright, and then God would help you.
WT: Are you supporting the demands of Boko Haram for a swap?
Sheikh Gumi: When the government accepts that demand, it is not that it has succumbed to the demands of the terrorists. As it is now, it has no option. Release their men, but if they don’t release the girls, then we can fight them with all our hearts. I also want to call on the President to honourably resign, because the blood of many innocent people has been shed.
WT: Some say that it is lack of political will to fight the insurgency that has brought the country to the current situation. What’s your take on that?
Sheikh Gumi: Are we saying that because this insurgency is only affecting a certain part of the country, that is why the government is demonstrating nonchalance? If that is the case then we need to have a government that has the whole Nigeria at heart. A government that would protect the lives of all Nigerians, not a government that would be adamant when there is a problem in one part of the country. The President should allow somebody who can do the work, not to cling on to a job that he cannot handle.
For this, the question of 2015 does not even arise. What we want now is for Nigeria to survive. Even if we put the issue of Boko Haram aside, look at what is happening in Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue, Nasara, Plateau and now Taraba; how armed people go about on killing sprees. Isn’t it the duty of government to protect lives and properties? We also need to ask who is giving those people weapons.
Look at the issue of cattle rustling. Is it not a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Northern economy? When you frustrate animal rearing and farming, are you not saying that Northerners should go and die? There are supposed to be soldiers in villages to protect farmers and their cattle, but they are kept in the city. This is why I keep on repeating that there is concealment of truth. You would agree with me that a government that conceals crime is more dangerous than Boko Haram. So, how can you ask such government to continue when the whole Northern states are on fire?
Boko Haram is just camouflage. Whoever knows what the Nigerian military is in terms of gunfire and aerial power would tell you that there is deception. Something is happening somewhere. But they would not achieve their objectives because we have faith in Allah.

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