Prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said no
other President had killed innocent Fulani herdsmen as Muhammadu Buhari had
done.
Gumi, known for his influence among bandits and herdsmen
terrorising the North-West and North-Central parts of Nigeria, said this in an
interview with Vanguard while speaking on the complexity of the insecurity
problem, the actors and what he thinks is the way out.
Also speaking on the metamorphosis of the Ansaru sect that
executed the Abuja-Kaduna train killings and kidnap, Gumi said they had to
carve out a small area where they could live their lives.
“And I think they were disbanded, and some of their children were arrested, so they dispersed and got arms to fight back.
“If you want to demarcate Boko Haram and the ISWAP, they are
originally one group. Boko Haram was killing and massacring civilians.
“When the Daesh came, they (Ansaru) said ‘okay let’s follow
the Daesh and become a subsidiary of the Daesh’.
“They are not Boko Haram. To them, Boko is not a problem.
“Their problem is that they want to seclude themselves in
the forest so that they live their pristine life the way they envisaged it.
“But because of the fear of Boko Haram. The authorities
disbanded them.
“When their camp was disbanded, they became armed. They’re
not challenging the state. They were challenging wrongdoing by the state.
“That was why when they took the (train attack) victims,
they wanted their prisoners to be released. You’ve seen the difference now,”
Gumi noted.
Buhari
On President Buhari’s place in the complex insecurity
matter, Gumi said: “These bandits, who is supplying them weapons? There are bad
elements in security (services).
“Even if you are the Commander-in-Chief, if you don’t look
at the security system and overhaul it completely, this problem will continue.”
Told the perception in some quarters that Buhari was
protective of the Fulani, Gumi said: “Oh, it’s the opposite. It is just a wrong
perception.
“If there is any President that has actually killed innocent
herdsmen in the forest, it is Buhari. In all these bombardments, innocent
people, women and children, all die.
“It started during Jonathan (administration). I’m telling
you most of the herdsmen are reacting to the overuse of armed forces.
“Their children were scattered and displaced. This is what
happened and what is happening. They are just fighting back.
“And what I was able to do is to sit down with them and hear
their grievances.
“But when we came out, we didn’t have anything — nobody was
trying to listen. Even the press is not receptive.
“The press was very hostile. Like what you said when the BBC
had its interview, the government was hostile.
“When we went in, we were accused of trying to give
publicity to these people. Just imagine the Ansaru people behind the train
attack; we later learned that eight of their children were incarcerated.
“So no matter how criminally-minded you are, what has that
to do with your children? So we’re pushing them into criminal activities.”
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