Headlines
Restructure Nigeria not Sharia, Sheik Gumi
- Says Buhari’s government in opposition to itself
- National Assembly bereft of intellectuals
- Nigeria needs new crop of leaders
BY OUR EDITOR
Muslim cleric Sheik Abubakar Gumi is talking tough again. The outspoken imam has once again x-rayed the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari led government and found it extremely deficient in almost all indices of quality governance and leadership.
In a diagnosis sure to ruffle feathers, Sheik Gumi described the Buhari administration as a government in opposition to itself.
“The division in the country is caused by the political leadership. We don’t have good leaders. We have leadership that still believes it is in opposition. It is structured to be opposing like critics. They are in power but they still behave as if they are in opposition,” Gumi observed, in a no-holds-barred interview with VANGUARD.
He continued: “I recently heard the Vice President saying they could not tackle poverty because of the past government. You are in your fifth year of leadership yet you still blame somebody for not turning things around? Adolf Hitler met Germany in utter disaster but, in a few years, Germany was producing machines to fight the world. It is leadership. The economy is dependent on leadership. We don’t have that. There is crime everywhere. We are spending wrongly.
READ: CBN former governor Soludo calls for total restructuring of Nigeria’s federalism
“They do not have priorities on development. They want a quick fix. They want to build edifices so that they can say ‘this is what we did’. This is not how an economy is run. Human development indices are very low in Nigeria. Mortality rate is high, and the standard of education is poor. If you train Nigerians, they will do what is right. Our budget for human development is very poor. We are spending where we should not spend because we want to impress.
“Leaders are not investing enough in education. The budgetary allocation for education is low. Since the North has a problem in the education sector, state governments should invest more in education. They should get teachers from other places, improve the quality of teachers and build more schools. Things will turn around in a short time if proper attention is paid to education. We are not spending on education and we are not spending on health.
“What government needs to do is to create industrial agriculturists. We have arable lands. Government should assist people who want to embrace agriculture. When you give loan to small scale farmers, it does not help. What happens is that after getting the loan, instead of tilling the lands, they buy hajj tickets or marry more wives. They engage in bedroom farming, not real farming.
Reacting to a call by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, for the amendment of the Constitution to expand the scope of Sharia legal system Gumi demurred. He said instead of embarking on a policy that will further polarise the country, government should summon courage and restructure the entire federation.
READ: FG, under Buhari, using Jihad to turn Nigeria into Sharia nation – Christian Elders
“What I think we should do is to restructure Nigeria so that areas where Muslims are in the majority, like Zamfara and Kano, will have their system. Where Christians are more, allow them to have their way. Law is what governs people and controls them. If there is Sharia law in Borno State, Boko Haram will end immediately because there will be nothing to agitate for. Saudi Arabia is running the Sharia system but that does not prevent them from developing. They have the best roads, hospitals and the latest technology. They produce some of the highest number of PhD holders in all fields.
“Restructuring Nigeria is the most important thing. Don’t talk about Sharia. Each state should have autonomy to do what suits the majority of its population. You cannot neglect religion. It is very potent. If it is used to manipulate the people, it becomes opium but if it is used strictly according to the scriptures, it is good. In Islam, we are told that Muslims should love Christians. Clerics are not big-headed. Christianity inculcates humility. If your neighbour is a good Christian, you are safe. If your neighbour is a good Muslim, you are safe. A good Christian or a good Muslim will not chase your wife, he will not chase your daughter, he will not come home drunk, and he will not steal your money. We should not fight religion. We should rather embrace religion. But it should be localized, not nationalised. Let states have their autonomy and rules.
“I do not think it is for the Chief Justice of Nigeria to prescribe anything, it is for the National Assembly to restructure Nigeria, but I do not think we have the right calibre of people in the National Assembly to do that. They are not intellectually capable of restructuring Nigeria.
“Restructuring should happen in the next dispensation. Nigerians should be wise enough to elect intellectuals into government. Three years is good enough for Christians, Muslims and other intellectuals to come together and work out plans. It is just a matter of time. This is a very beautiful country and we can make it what we want. It is time for us to restructure Nigeria.
“Sharia has nothing to do with non-Muslims. Only the Sharia court can handle issues of inheritance for Muslims and not the conventional court. If we restructure Nigeria to give every state autonomy, the country will be good. America is as diverse as we are but the laws of the country are well-rooted. We need a federation like America where the states will have some form of independence,” Gumi said.
READ: Sultan warns of disobedience to court orders
On the issue of border closure, electoral process, rule of law and insecurity in the land, the respected cleric scored the government in the minuses.
According to Sheik Gumi, “Things have become worse. Look at the border closure. Look at the obsession with rice. This is a government that thrives on propaganda and it capitalises on the ignorance of its supporters. Things are bad for the people.
“Court orders have no meaning in Nigeria now because government can ignore it. Nigeria is too big. What I fear is a slide into anarchy. Government seems not able to handle anything. Boko Haram is too big for government. Violent herdsmen are too big for government to handle. All the money that is being borrowed, why can’t they improve the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC? They don’t want to make INEC work because they depend on rigging.
“The situation is terribly bad. People cannot feed. People cannot buy drugs. You can no longer trust even your driver to buy fuel for you. He would rather take part of the money to feed his family. Corruption is everywhere because of lack of leadership.
“We need a new crop of leaders in the country. We need people who are not stained by blood and corruption.