When a good man dies, the rainbow appears in the sky but when a bad man dies, the clouds turn gloomy and fearful. This may sound superstitious but it is on record that when Queen Elizabeth II passed on, a rainbow appeared in the sky above the roof of Buckingham Palace. I recall that when the death of a certain notorious former Head of State of Nigeria was announced, it rained cats and dogs in most parts of the country, causing heavy flooding that rendered thousands homeless.
Certain persons are associated with good or evil and it’s not without a reason. Whenever Sheikh Gumi’s name is mentioned, the response, rightly or wrongly, is often one of contempt and suspicion. Each time he talks of negotiating with bandits, the question on every lip is, “Why has this man not been arrested?” Everyone knows that Federal Government’s policy on the matter is that negotiating with bandits and kidnappers for ransom is illegal.
Because of his self-appointed role as mediator and facilitator for payment of ransom and amnesty for bandits, Sheikh Gumi readily comes across as the Advocatus Diaboli, the Latin expression for the Devil’s Advocate. Is this the role he has taken upon himself? The role of a mediator for insurgents, cattle rustlers, terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists? Why has he taken up this unenviable role for which he has continued to suffer public condemnation?
Born in Kano in 1960, Gumi’s background as an Islamic scholar, Grand Khadi of the Shariah Court of Appeal, and a retired captain of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps, may explain his activism in matters affecting the Moslem faith and militants of northern extraction. With such a pedigree, no one should be in doubt as to his level of individual achievement and status as a cleric and as a bona fide citizen of Nigeria whose right to his religion is inalienable. On a number of occasions, Sheikh Gumi has met several bandit leaders to dissuade them from kidnapping and militancy and has repeatedly advocated that the Federal Government of Nigeria should treat the case of bandits in the same manner the militants in the Niger Delta were treated, comparing both as “cattle militants” and “oil militants”, respectively. He is of the view that repentant bandits should be granted amnesty and rehabilitated into civil society as was done for militants in the Niger Delta. This position has been rejected by the Federal Government, although some states in the north, at one time or the other, appeared to have bought into the idea.
It was widely reported particularly by BBC and other local media that he once donated Islamic books to bandits. In March 2021, he was involved in the release of 27 students abducted from a forestry college in Kaduna State. He said that he had helped to stop some kidnappers from killing their hostages when they threatened to kill them if no ransom was paid at the expiration of the deadline given by the kidnappers.
His argument is that negotiating with bandits and rehabilitating them will minimize their militancy and criminal behaviour. Specifically, he said, “Kidnapping children from school is a lesser evil because in the end, you can negotiate and now bandits are very careful about human lives. Before, the mission of bandits was to go into town, ransack it and kill people.” This mediatory role has caused him great headache in the hands of the federal authorities. Recently, he was invited for questioning by security agents, but it appears he is determined to continue with his mediation for the criminals.
From a humanitarian point of view, and perhaps for peace to reign, as they say, troublemakers could be forgiven and reintegrated into the society if they show remorse. However, Gumi’s argument that negotiation and amnesty will minimize banditry has since collapsed like a pack of cards. Despite payment of ransom albeit through the backdoor, cases of banditry and kidnapping have quadrupled in recent times. Children and students are abducted almost on a daily basis. Villages and communities are sacked even in broad daylight. The kidnappers have become more daring and the amount of money they now demand as ransom is sometimes bigger than the annual budget of an entire state. The more ransom you pay, the higher the demand. This is the reality on ground. Kidnapping is like a vulture stalking and circling a dying man; it will not go away until the man dies. The bottom line is that banditry and kidnapping are twin-evils, and the only thing you do to evil is to fight it; nothing more, nothing less.
*Anthony-Spinks writes from Asaba, Delta State.
