Gumi noted that Boko Haram would not have become a national security menace if former President Olusegun Obasanjo had reined in the activities of its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, and those he accused of practising “political Sharia” while he was in power.

The 33-page discourse which he entitled “The Cloaked One”, laced with analogies and quotations from Islamic jurisprudence and Common laws, recalled that Sheikh Jaafar Adam (of blessed memory) had alerted the government (of Olusegun Obasanjo) and anyone who cared to listen then that late Muhammad Yusuf was up to some dangerous games in very good time but no one listened to him.”

He observed that the administration of Chief Obasanjo wasted time by playing politics with religion.

“Consequently, even when Jaafar Adam was mowed down, it could not trigger a suspicion or reaction to use the clergy as the counter narrative solution against the BH group.”

Muslim clerics, he said “continued to fall until fear gripped the flock as to jettison any other solution outside of waiting for the military resolve,” because of the lethargy of the Obasanjo presidency.

He queried the efficacy of the military solution, saying six years after the death of its founder, the group had become even stronger and more daring.

In Gumi’s opinion, if Obasanjo had prevented the Zamfara State government under Ahmad Sani Yerima from introducing what it called Sharia criminal law, the risk of misinterpreting the Islamic penal code would have been averted.

He argued that the application of Sharia by Yerima and his co-travellers “was not only hard on Muslims in ‘uquba’, but amateurish and narrow in perception. It sent dangerous signal to the public that the Nigeria project had sidelined Sharia criminal law and that Muslims had been marginalized before then, not minding the modest achievements yet in place.”

According to Gumi, if there is anybody to blame for the current travails of Muslims and the North, it is Obasanjo.

“He has been on the scene for too long to claim innocence, and for his own quality and experience. He has danced along the fault lines of secular and religious Nigeria since 1975 when, as head of state, he collected missionary schools from the churches and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and simultaneously recruited retired soldiers to government schools to impose corporal discipline in place of clergy and moral dominance in our schools.

“He again supervised and restored the first walkout of Muslim representatives to the constitution drafting committee of 1979 and was again to benefit from another similar walkout in 1999 after which he became the next civilian president”.

Gumi described Obasanjo’s handling of the ‘political Sharia’ introduced by Yerima as ’reckless and extra-judicial.’

“His government denied the federal courts an adjudicative opportunity that could assuage the situation to probably fill in the gaps that Sharia needed to have natural growth and level-playing field like any other sensitive aspect of our lives.

“The various legislative houses at different levels were consequently also denied the opportunity to pick up better initiatives from the judiciary, to carry on together with the executive arm the Sharia discourse and development across those places it needed to make positive inroads like all other matters of common concerns.”

Incidentally, he noted, President Obasanjo was privy to the robust role of the judiciary in all matters that included politics, like in the interpretation of two-thirds of 19 states and many more pursued by Nigerian courts which mainly also upheld public policy to the wide acclaim of Nigerians.

“Methinks Obasanjo knew the greater implications to the polity and that was why he was bent on a third term to manage it fair enough. When the third term bid failed, Baba Obasanjo could only be scanty to the incoming Yar’Adua/Jonathan‘s regimes over the full brief to the Sharia crisis and its logical link with the BH for them to remain clueless in its management.

“The guilt may explain why Obasanjo remained too interested as to seek compensation to the BH leader’s family even ahead of the government initiative while prescribing a carrot and stick approach to the counter insurgency effort.

“On the sight of a free and fair election, Obasanjo was again quick to shift ground, dance and arrive at the change pulpit even before the imam’s arrival in order to assure himself of a credible role thereafter,” he contended.

Similarly, Gumi observed, former president Obasanjo, who introduced what the retired one-star general called “so many laudable national projects” that could have stopped the insecurity at the earliest stage, shirked his responsibility by failing to implement them.

He cited the National ID card and the registration of mobile phone lines as measures that could have come in handy to nip the Boko Haram criminality in the bud.

Gumi also said that the sales of federal government landed properties made alienation and social exclusion issues that heightened tension in many states of the North.

“The attitude”, he concluded, “gave the room for system arbitrariness, adjustments, corruption and impugned consequences.”

Source: http://leadership.ng/news/441037/only-north-muslims-can-defeat-bharam-gen-gumi

E don miss road

I comment my reserve

How I wish the Northern Elite would listen to this man and change their ways, for Obasanjo, he should keep on hooping like an old aged toad till he drops.

someone is saying something reasonable

All I can say is it is well with nigeria

intresting !

They have been living in denial all along and have given Jonathan a bad name, all in a bid to wrestle power from him. Now, they have succeeded but yet to be free from the scourge of terrorism.

Sometimes I just wish all that happen in the north remain in the north

Hmm and baba is busy laying blames on Jonathan

www.

True talk OBJ handled yusufia w kidclove bt Gj as sacred cow carried n endured d cross.

Buhari na their leader that's who we know

The one and only dullard

This message should be exclusively directed to South-West, Nigeria based revisionists, image launderers, repackaging companies and their social media touts

This is the same editorial I wrote that translated to being labeled a bigot and chief tribalist

The more u look the less u understand.

walahi ,i gbadu this man

can i book this plot?











ofcourse

Trailblazer1:
They have been living in denial all along and have given Jonathan a bad name, all in a bid to wrestle power from him. Now, they have succeeded but yet to be free from the scourge of terrorism.

Sometimes I just wish all that happen in the north remain in the north

That's the problem ,it won't end in the North and the so called northern elders won't just listen until every region gets sucked into it.

It's unfortunate that the "very truth" about boko haram,would never be known. On the other hand,it's a good thing we're beginning to hear some half-truths from those in the know. Hopefully,someday,we'd know close to the truth but like I said earlier,we'd never know the very truth about boko haram.

Yerima introduced Sharia law and not Obasanjo.

It is this same Sharia that Boko Haram want to impose on the whole polity.


The north should stop blaming others for their own self created monsters and problems.

OBASANJO IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BOKOHARAM INSURGENCY..

IT STARTED DURING YARADUA'S REGIME BY THE THE RECKLESS KILLING OF THE FIRST BOKOHARAM LEADER IN THE POLICE CUSTODY.....

GEJ FAILED AS A PRESIDENT TO CURB THE INSURGENCY...

HOW DOES ENFORCEMENT OF SHARIA LAW LEAD TO BOKOHARAM? SHARIA LAW IS PART AND PARCEL OF ISLAMIC RELIGION.....



#IT MAY BE TO LATE NOW TO CONTROL THE INSURGENCY BECAUSE OF THE IMMEDIATE PAST REGIME...

Jonathan was never the cause of bh in Nigeria of course.

MizMyColi:
So, he's inadvertently saying Obasanjo might have knowingly given Boko Haram a free reign to serve the purposes of some higher power.

Could this higher power be the same people who refused selling weapons to Oga Jona and blocked avenues from which he could source?

Is that why they rammed in on the SA arms deal and made him look even worse?


It is too early to think that Nigeria has truly entered one chance....

We will keep observing and taking notes.

the political Sharia was a bait against. OBJ and his government. Yerima and his likes dared OBJ, they set a trap for him. The man understood and delibrately shyed away from the issue of political Sharia. If he did not, the Islamists up north, woyld had labelled him anti Islam. Thw political sharia was their reaponse to the loss of power at the centre. Its easy for Gumi to talk now. Why didnt he stand up against the likes of Yerima as at then?when we say Nigeria cannot work in its present structure, we are called tribalists, bigots and haters. We can either stand up now and do wahy we have to do or keep shying away from the truth. Time is running out.

500GP:
OBASANJO IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BOKOHARAM INSURGENCY..

IT STARTED DURING YARADUA'S REGIME BY THE THE RECKLESS KILLING OF THE FIRST BOKOHARAM LEADER IN THE POLICE CUSTODY.....

GEJ FAILED AS A PRESIDENT TO CURB THE INSURGENCY...

HOW DOES ENFORCEMENT OF SHARIA LAW LEAD TO BOKOHARAM? SHARIA LAW IS PART AND PARCEL OF ISLAMIC RELIGION.....



#IT MAY BE TO LATE NOW TO CONTROL THE INSURGENCY BECAUSE OF THE IMMEDIATE PAST REGIME...

bros, BH was already attacking Government institutions, killing police men in the days of OBJ. Why was Yusuf arrested in the first place?

They won't listen or heed to his advice because the 1diots will label anybody who says the truth in NAIJA, a Gej loyalist.

Thank you PA Gumi, you are one of few leaders I have high regards for.

The truth always have a way of consuming whoever that doesn't wanna accept it. It takes time but it surely does happen.

noblezone:
bros, BH was already attacking Government institutions, killing police men in the days of OBJ. Why was Yusuf arrested in the first place?

Get your facts right. He was arrested and killed in 2009. Was OBJ still the president at the time?

Former director of legal services of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Abdulqadir Abubakar Gumi (retd), has said that for the Boko Haram sect to be crushed  completely, the North must rise up in unison and adopt defence mechanisms peculiar and suitable to its brand of tradition.

Gumi, who is a son of the revered late Grand Khadi of Northern Nigeria, Sheik Abubakar Gumi, and brother of Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mahmud Gumi, noted that apart from the ongoing effort by the federal government, the Muslim community in the country had the obligation to complement the fight against the insurgents.

Trailblazer1:
They have been living in denial all along and have given Jonathan a bad name, all in a bid to wrestle power from him. Now, they have succeeded but yet to be free from the scourge of terrorism.

Sometimes I just wish all that happen in the north remain in the north

A bigot is always a bigot, you see no reason for other people to live, just cuz u have the means to type doesn't mean u can say any gibberish that comes out of ur month, there is a problem at hand, everybody is professing solution while you are still at the denial and blame level, your IQ must be lower than average man, when everybody is on the same page u are still lagging behind? I will advise you not ti comment when you don't have any tangible or logical thing to say, just browse 2ru u might learn one or two things bro. No hard feelings. Remember today is North, Nobody Knows what tomorrow has in store for you and me or your bifra.

natas22:
Hmm and baba is busy laying blames on Jonathan

www.

there is a difference between the person that is responsible for this mess and failure to curtail the issue, Obj was responsible while Jone fail to do a simple job, arresting the situation while it's still young, he play politics with the whole issue and it ends up consuming him, the writer tries to go back to history to blame who is responsible and the way forward. If PMB fail to defeat them after 4years he will also be part of those people that fail to finished what Obj allowed to fester so long.

dustmalik:

Get your facts right. He was arrested and killed in 2009. Was OBJ still the president at the time?

Yusuf started recruiting and training his army in the days of OBJ. They were already attacking police stations before Yaradua came. It was their violent activities that led to his arrest.

senier007:
there is a difference between the person that is responsible for this mess and failure to curtail the issue, Obj was responsible while Jone fail to do a simple job, arresting the situation while it's still young, he play politics with the whole issue and it ends up consuming him, the writer tries to go back to history to blame who is responsible and the way forward. If PMB fail to defeat them after 4years he will also be part of those people that fail to finished what Obj allowed to fester so long.

when you responsible, was it OBJ that started the Sharia movement across the north? Was he the one that sponsored Yuruf? The north can continue to deny the monster they gave birth to. Have they not said it was Ihekirika? Excuse me please.

I think the last time i checked Gumi wasn't a general. Well, activities of late Muhd Yusuf might have started during OBJ's govt, but they came to limelight during Yaradua's govt. And yes Sheikh Jaafar was killed a day to 2007 elections, and the prime suspects were BH.