Sheik Ahmad Gumi, respected Islamic Cleric, has lamented on April 10, 2021, that it is easier to meet with bandits than President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spokesman of Northern Elders’ forum, Gumi told stakeholders in the region that he had made fruitless efforts to meet with the President over the rising insecurity.
Recall that the Islamic Cleric has been on a peace mission to the stronghold of bandits in a bid to find solution to banditry.
“Today Sheikh Dr. Abubakar Gumi told Northern Peoples Summit in Kaduna how he spent months meeting bandits and many more months on fruitless efforts to meet and advise President Buhari on how to tackle the scourge. He said it is much easier to meet bandits than meet the President”, Baba-Ahmed tweeted.
Baba-Ahmed’s tweet sparked some reactions but the outspoken critic of the current administration justified his post.
Tweeting@ Vincentita1, one Vincent wrote: “Bumi’s position on ending banditry is already known. Must Gumi meet with the President directly before offering his advise”?
To which Baba-Ahmed replied, “how can I argue with someone who knows so much about security matters and how they can or should be handled? All I know is that Gumi was a Colonel in the army and may have stumbled on info and ideas that would only be useful if given directly to the President. What do I know”?
Mustapha Hadi, another Tweeter user said, “Can Dr. Ahmad Gumi Submit his proposal to the Defense Minister then”?
But Baba-Ahmed responded, “Minister of Defence has no autonomy or independence from President, C-in-C who takes final decisions on security policy, Sir”.
Tweeting with the account @ achamaja_Irene, one Irene asked, “Sir, my own question is, how did Sheik Dr. Gumi move from preaching to Fulani herders to negotiating with bandits? Ba ku tambaye shi ba”?
And he responded, “We did. There really is no much difference to the two roles. He was preaching to bandits not Fulani herders. This is a difference”.
and then