Boko Haram Can’t Break Up Nigeria – Sheikh Gumi

A prominent Islamic scholar, Sheik Ahmed Gumi, yesterday told the members of the Boko Harm group that they would not succeed in their plan to destroy the country.

 He told LEADERSHIP Sunday at his Kaduna home that the insurgents’ “cannot kill someone and expect peace; they will not live to enjoy the killings they did; they have only destroyed themselves”.

 “I am calling on all those killing people including the Boko Haram members to stop that; they are destroying themselves, and they can never succeed,” he said.

On the recent declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the medical doctor said the decision was politically motivated.

“The state of emergency is a political decision done in necessity of war because the army, police security checkpoints and the rest have all the facilities to fight the Boko Haram without imposing such law.

“In fact, it is my idea that engaging the army might be like killing a fly with a hammer, because the Boko Haram is entrenched within the civilian population. A very good intelligence decision can fish them out one by one,” he said. “The Boko Haram group does not have the firepower; they only load a car with explosives somewhere and explode it. The Boko Haram members only need good policing; a well-equipped police, good intelligence can curtail their activities. And if the situation gets worse, get the officers in the armed forces to fish them out.”

Gumi further said that “Nigerians must live in peace; everyone needs good health, shelter, education and a better future for their children. We need tranquillity. Leaders should not be biased at all level; they should serve all Muslims, Christians, and in fact they should serve the whole country”.

To check the current insecurity in Nigeria, the United States delegation to the ongoing African Union (AU) Summit in Ethiopia yesterday hinted that the Barack Obama administration would begin a monitoring of the northern part of the country.

 The delegation led by secretary of state John Kerry said that the American government would  continue to monitor the north and work with the other Nigerians, the military and  the security agencies to address the crisis in the region.

Reacting to the recent outburst of the US on the harsh approach of the Nigerian security agencies to the families of Boko Haram leaders, Kerry said: “When we issued the statement, it was based on information that we had been receiving: that there was continued violation of human rights. Because of our concerns in the north that human rights violations still continue, that we will continue to monitor and work with the Nigerian government to address those concerns.”



Leadership