Anyone patriotic citizen that’s familiar with the present Nigeria’s dispensation, especially religious, political and insecurity bedeviling the country needs no further explanation when the name of Mufti Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gummi is mentioned. He has been constantly on the news headlines for his contributions to the national issues. But most of the times, being misquoted or his speech distorted and atimes deliberately misunderstood.

Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has been at the forefront of criticism and condemning Boko Haram’s ideology and atrocities in the country at a time when none of the Islamic clerics or politicians could dare do so. He fearlessly criticised and called them untrue Muslims for killing people and also criticised the government for extra judicial killings which escalated the emergence of Boko Haram in the North East. 

Dr. Ahmad Gummi is also an advocate of negotiation with bandits that have been wrecking  havoc on the innocent citizens in the North West. He keeps calling for the government to negotiate with them just as did with Niger Delta militias. He is of the opinion that many of these bandits entered into this banditry because of neglect and marginalisation from the government and society respectively. As a result of that, many of them are left illiterates, ignorants both in Islamic and western education. They are all left behind in all the sphere of life. He kept asking the government to look into what led them to this, intervene, educate them, grant them amnesty, rehabilitate them and reintegrate them into the society.

On the other hand, he didn’t spare the Fulani bandits. He took risk to visit their dens in the bush and preached to them. He fearlessly admonished them to stop killing, kidnapping and maiming innocent people. He asked them to embrace peace as Allah would not temper mercy on those who kill and wreck havoc on fellow human beings. He advised them to address their grievances through lawful and peaceful channel. He even assigned some of his students to stay behind and be teaching them Islamic knowledge with a view to educating them and moreover, taxed his family members to built school and hospital for them as he realized what they are doing is not unconnected with the lack of education and long time neglect from the government and society which renders them what they are.

Moreover, Dr. Ahmad Gummi from the Islamic angle, didn’t spare the new generation of Islamic clerics who introduced a new way of interpretation of islamic jurisprudence. He totally condemns this method and called it new innovation and asked the people to discard it because it is not in conformity with the true Islamic provision. He has been struggling with this class of new generation of Islamic clerics as mentioned above. This also generates additional opposition to him from them who are always going against whatever comes out from him, either Islamic or from the political angle irrespective of its usefulness, especially now that they have been seen by the majority of Muslims in the country as what he called them. 

Those who are happy with, and continuously praying to see what’s happening in the North continues, they are kicking against his preaching for peace negotiation with the Fulani bandits who are fighting the Hausa which renders agricultural and pastoral activities impossible in the North. And this agriculture takes larger percentage of workforce in the North. They like this to continue because the North is killing themselves while poverty continues to wreck the populace. 

And there are also politicians who are not happy with his constant criticism of government policies that aren’t people’s friendly. Dr. Ahmad Gumi doesn’t hesitate to criticise any policy that goes contrary to his ideologies. He didn’t stop at giving only advice, but cricism and condemnation so long a government brings a policy that is injurious to the people and country. Those who are/were ardent supporters of former government know this. 

Dr. Ahmad Gumi has been fighting four different categories of people from within and outside at the same time: there are those who see his campaign for peaceful negotiation with bandits to end the crisis as a way of getting rid of what they are gaining from the insecurity in the country. Those who don’t want the North to live in peace and harmony for their political advantage. Politicians whom he criticised their government’s policies and refused to be induced by their material offerings. And those halfbaked and fake Islamic clerics who paraded themselves as leaders of modern Islamic jurisprudence. These four categories are all out fighting him for their vested and egocentric interests at the detriment of the country.

That’s why whenever he talks, they shiver, because he’s fearless and bold in saying the truth to the face of anyone irrespective of his social, political or financial class. They always misquote, distort and change his original statement in order to paint him black and make people/government hate him. But this, has not only made him more popular, but further widen and increased the number of those who understand and appreciate what he has been doing and clamouring for. 

What many of the ignorant don’t know about the issue of insecurity Dr. Ahmad Abubakar has been making his own contribution to see the end of it, while the constitution gives him right to make his suggestion on any national issue that affects the country, he never for once, even when he risked his life to meet with the bandits in their dens, went there without the consent and escort of security agencies. Dr. AHMAD GUMI has been a friend of security agencies in the country, especially on this issue of banditry, and from time to time they do consult him to offer his advice as security expert, Islamic cleric, senior citizen, elder-stateman, and a medical doctor. 

To the ignorant pessimists, who think Dr. Ahmad Gumi is a threat to the security in the country, the security agencies benefit a lot from his vast experience, and your pessimism would not in anyway, deter him from offering his advice on any issue to the time our insecurity becomes history, in be it political, social or security. Most of his views and advice are there unfolding even if discarded from the beginning. 

May Allah see us through.

-Salis Muhammad Moriki

Deputy Secretary

Dr Ahmad Gumi Students forum

Salisu Hassan Webmaster

08038892030

16 Ramadan 1445AH

26/03/2024