Sheikh Ahmad Gumi is a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric who shares the same birthday with Nigeria, having been born on Saturday, October 1, 1960. In this interview with SOLA OJO, the medical graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria expressed optimism that Nigerian democracy will over time grow to overcome its identified challenges currently bedevilling it. According to him, the dark clouds will disappear the moment the country elects a new crop of leaders in 2023.
He also asserted that virtually all top contenders for the presidential seat in 2023 are friends, which he claimed is a good development for Nigeria..
“Tinubu brought Atiku to be a presidential candidate of ACN. Atiku brought Obi to be Vice President and of course, Kwankwaso was in both PDP and APC, which means they are all friends. In fact, this is the first time friends will be contesting against one another and that is a good omen for Nigeria,” he stated.
He also declared that negotiations with bandits and other criminals, rather than military force, have been responsible for the reduction in crime rates across the country.
Nigeria became an independent country 62 years ago which coincided with your birthday. How far do you think we have come as a country and as a people in terms of growth and development indices?
When you look at Nigeria as a political entity, 62 years is a small age when compared with countries like the United States of America and United Kingdom which are about 300 years old. If we compare ourselves at 62, we are still at infancy and I can say we have done ‘good’ not best. One, we have survived as a country because all the agitations here and there this time cannot break Nigeria. Nigeria is too strong for that. I’m not saying they cannot cause turbulence and disturbances, but, the country is firmly grounded that not even a military coup can destabilise Nigeria. In fact, no military can succeed now.
How have we fared about economy in these last 62 years?
Ah, in terms of economy, we have done terribly bad because of inherent corruption. This is why we need a new sense of moral orientation. I think it was Shagari who wanted to do ethical revolution which is what we need now. This is because the corruption is cutting across including the government officials and even Nigerians. Look at cultism, sex-for-marks in our institutions where cultural values should be observed. I wouldn’t want to have somebody coming to me with placards on anti-corruption because I will see such person as corrupt. What we need is accountability rule of law, checks and balances.
Over seven years have been spent under the current administration and this will be the last time it would be celebrating the Independence Day in office. Where has it done well and where has it not done well?
This administration has been able to uphold the country. It has been able to keep the country afloat. This is a big task. So, it is a plus for them. Otherwise the diversity – IPOB there, Boko Haram, bandits, criminal herdsmen and Igboho in the Southwest.
Besides that, criminality has increased, coupled with the economic downturn. You can hardly trust anybody with money now. I’m doing a small farm here at Rigachikun and we started harvesting a few days ago. By the time we returned to the farm to continue the day after, people have entered to steal part of it right on the farm. This is one area this administration has failed economically. They have claimed to have put so much money in farming of rice. I am a rice farmer and I did not get a penny from them. They know how to distribute the money to those around them. A young lady who was working with a microfinance bank once told me that when she raised a concern about how the money was been shared to cronies of government officials, her boss told her to do her job. You see, this kind of money is supposed to go round to the real farmers. So, the next government should be national. Not about party. Whoever wins should embrace other contestants and luckily, they are all friends. Tinubu brought Atiku to be a presidential candidate of ACN. Atiku brought Obi to be Vice President and of course, Kwankwaso was in both PDP and APC which means they are all friends. In fact, this is the first time friends will be contesting against one another and that is a good omen for Nigeria. That means there won’t be animosity, violence, polarisation, and I hope they will listen to voices of reason. I have been interacting with them except Peter Obi. So, I hope Nigeria is going to be healed when we have a new government.
But the top political parties seem unable to put their houses in order….
No political party has ever been in order. Whether APC, PDP, LP, NNPP, PRP and the rest of them because of political interests. But, in the long run, all of them are the same. And again, they are friends and can even form a unitary government. What will happen is that, whoever emerges winner will pacify all the zones where other contestants come from.
What should Nigerian electorate do then?
Nigerians should thank God that we are seeing the end of this dark cloud that has befallen this country. So, we should be hopeful that we are going to be among the great countries because God is going to show us mercy.
Let every voter vote to elect who he believes in because we have choices. Even the Muslim-Muslim ticket they are talking about, I don’t see anything that showed they are representing religion. They are just trying to do what they think they need to do so they can get more votes and nothing more. They are not there to support Muslims or Christians.
Obi brought Datti because he wants votes. Atiku brought Okowa because he wants votes and Tinubu brought Shettima for the same reason. It is all permutations to get votes and no need for religion bigotry and sentiment in it. Whoever become president among them will heal Nigeria by the grace of God. I see Nigeria joining great nations soon. I see North and South dichotomy disappearing soon, unlike what we saw in 2011 when Jonathan contested against Buhari where a lot of people died. For example, I studied medicine in ABU some 30 years ago and more than half of my housemates are from the south. We had our reunion after 30 years as friends. No animosity. And that is what Nigeria needs now and I think this is where we are heading to.
As we approach another round of election in 2023, what do you think will help us have a peaceful and credible election?
It’s all about INEC. INEC should play its role as a neutral umpire. There must not be rigging. Again, whoever will mislead Nigeria will blackmail. Look at Barack Obama, there was no blackmail they didn’t do about him but it didn’t work. You see, people have made up their minds and blackmail will not work. Let it be issue-based campaign. Tell Nigerians what you want to do rather than resulting to blackmailing. Those that will vote Tinubu have made up their mind. People should not forget where Nigeria is after election. Power is like airplane which has the take off, the journey proper and the landing. This regime has a good take off but the journey was turbulent and we hope it will land safely.
Let discuss national security. There seems to be reduction in the spate of criminal activities due to sustained efforts by the military and other security agencies
It is because negotiation is working. Local commanders are negotiating with bandits and they are getting results. It is not about fire for fire. That Katsina bandit kingpin, Turji has been catching recalcitrant ones among them before the Nigerian Air Force started bombarding him. You see, there is no synergy. Let peace work. At a time when the fire was heavy, they were thinking of anti aircraft and we should not forget there is arms black market and once you have money you can get them.
That was why they are demanding outrageous ransom on their victims. Before, ransom is just about one N1million at most, compared to what they are demanding now. What are they going to do with the money than to use it to arm themselves. I think the next crop of leaders will be able to put this behind us.
The military is good and I cannot deny that because I’ve served there. But, when you dispatch them across the country like the police, that is not good because they will lose their professionalism. We need to be civilised. We need to make our military professionals to deter criminals against the country and we may need to have a national guard to deal with our internal strife.
Is there hope for our economy to bounce back as it used to be considering the naira weakness against the dollar now put at over N700 to one dollar?
Nigeria will be good again when we get new leadership who knows how to go about it. Italy was in bad debt but their story has changed today. Nigeria is a very rich country. Once we have good manager, our economy will bounce back.
Again, we should not joke with education and education from primary to secondary school level should be made free. And we should possibly subsidise higher education. Our technical education should be encouraged because if government and corporate organisations are doing that, the rush for university education will not be there as we have it today. I believe in Nigeria and I know that by the time we will be doing another interview next year, I will have better experience to share on my birthday than what we have now by the grace of God.