Written by Alaba Johnson on 19 January 2013.

Gumi Warns Nigeria Against Sending Troops to Mali, Doubts  Ihejirika Claims that Nigerian Terrorists Train in Mali
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⁠ The renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi has expressed his displeasure about the federal government's contribution of troops to the Mali campaign to expel Islamic extremists in the North of the country. He also expressed doubt about the claim by the Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, that Nigerian terrorists are being trained in Mali.

This is even as it has been revealed that the leader of the dreaded Islamic sect Boko Haram, Malam Abubakar Shekau, was shot and escaped to Mali where he is currently receiving treatment allegedly in the Malian town of Gao.

Gumi, who called Ihejirika a South south and Southeast Chief of Army Staff rather than a Nigerian Chief of Army Staff also went on to warn that the fight against terrorists in Mali may turn out to be a war against Muslims.
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⁠ He warned that if Ihejirika wanted to go the way of Azazi by building what he implanted then he leaves him to posterity.
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⁠ Gumi made these comments on his facebook page (click here) and as usual NaijaPundit brings you the full unedited post below;
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⁠ NIGERIAN TROOPS IN MALI
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⁠ Today Nigerian troops are committed in Mali to fight ‘Islamic terrorist’ without intellectually looking at the repercussion of such an adventure. We all know that War against terror which Islam also fights can easily be turned into war against Islam. There is a thin line between the two. And if caution is not taken, the situation can seriously be dangerous for the nation and more so for the government.
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⁠ One thing is very clear. No nation on earth can fight Islam and succeed. A Russian General was interviewed just before the illegal bush junior's attack on Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein to tap on Russian's experiences in Afghanistan. He said: “I advise the US not to attack Iraq, because if it does that, then it will be fighting the whole Muslims and whoever fights the whole Muslims will not succeed”. When I heard those words myself, I was amused. First I knew then that Saddam Hussein is not a favorite of many Muslims, I therefore wonder who will fight for him because Iraq is attacked. Secondly, what weapons do the Muslims have that the superpowers cannot defeat in warfare?
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⁠ I can now see what he means. The Soviet Union has fought the Mujahideen for almost 13 years in Afghanistan and ended up disintegrated. Now, the USA is facing a fatal economic challenge a similar challenge that made the Soviet Union unmanageable and crumbled. The USA has been a free country where money flows in and out, where business flourishes with little hindrances. But the moment, Bush lied and tried to attack a sovereign nation, it frighten all the Muslim states even those that are moderate from his recklessness. It also frightened the Americans from possible backlash of such an adventure inflaming an already volatile situation. The end result is stringent monitoring and restriction of flow of money in and out of the country. A self-imposed umbilical stenosis, a self-imposed strangulation. Nobody will again trust the USA, therefore people now prefer Asia for their business, medical care and even education. All this caused by an idiot who has caused untold hardship for his citizens and others alike. Today, Bush jr and his defense ‘Hamana’ Ramsfeild are nonentity even in their own country, they are not respected and they will forever be tormented with the sights of so many American youth that were maimed and amputated from the deceptive war against ‘terror’ they manipulated.
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⁠ As for Nigeria, we have seen in the late 60’s when Maj. Nzeogwu assassinated the Northern premier and the subsequent Biafran War that ensued. Ojukwu in his declaration of war was point blank that he was fighting Islam and the menace of Arabs as he claimed. The end results were that he destroyed lives, went to exile and to date Biafra ceases to exist except of course in the psyche of its proponents. And worst still for him, Islam has reached the sea shores of the Delta.
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⁠ This brief chain of events should be a clear counsel to people leading Nigeria today; no one can fight Islam or the Muslims and succeed. It is futile to attempt. They will only destroy their own lives and cause untold hardship to others. They will be cursed not only by people they injured but by their own people as Bush jr is regarded now in America. Therefore if they have such plans or are deceived by some Islam-phobics in their circles they should reverse their policies immediately.
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⁠ I am seriously clouded by doubts about the intentions Nigerian leaders in sending troops to Mali and also the security situation in the north. Many people are questioning the militarization of the north which to me is a disguise. I Read some excerpts from an article posted on: www.gamji.com. Title: Executive Plane Crashes & Roadblocks By Babayola M. Toungo (babayolatoungo@yahoo.co.uk">babayolatoungo@yahoo.co.uk). He said:
⁠ “Today most cities in the north look like conquered territories because of the high concentration of gun totting military personnel wherever one turns. Our society has been militarised, and if I can borrow Jerry Rawlings cliché, “violence have been democratised”, with a human life costing less than the cost of the bullet used to kill him. The soldiers deployed to our cities and highways have turned out to be worse than the Boko Haram fighters it is meant to protect the people from. The number of souls lost to the bullets of the soldiers may be higher than the number of those killed by the sect members. Much as the people have been calling on the authorities for the withdrawal of the soldiers, the authorities have turned deaf ears because they believe the people are their enemies and must therefore be shielded from by force of arms. All this may be a direct consequence of how our leaders emerged through fraudulent means. Apart from the daily lost of lives caused by the military, the humiliation our people suffer from the hands of these uncouth goons both in the cities and the highways are terrible, to say the least. I had the misfortune of travelling to Yola by road from Kaduna and the way commuters in public vehicles are humiliated and intimidated made me hate being a Nigerian. The military men manning the roadblocks behaves no different from occupation forces we see on our television sets in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. Passengers are asked to come down from their vehicles and open their luggage for a public display of their most personal items. At some roadblocks, passengers are ordered to face away from the vehicle while searches are conducted. I saw a woman forced to mow grasses for daring to look at a soldier while he was searching their bus. The ‘rule’ is that all passengers are to turn their backs to their luggage while it being searched. Can’t be worse for Palestinians crossing into Israel. We ended up making a trip of eight hours in ten. For those in the towns, the experiences are far worse for those using motorcycles. You are forced to dismount at the pain of being flogged by the soldiers at the roadblocks. The harassments and humiliations apart, the stupendous amount of money that goes into maintaining these roadblocks are mind-boggling. The monies should have made a lot of difference in the lives of our long-suffering compatriots. With all the ubiquity of the roadblocks, the bombers – what they are purportedly created to stop – are continuing to have a field day. With the twin bombings in the heart of the military’s elitist Cantonment – Jaji – the uselessness of these roadblocks have been exposed. They are just useless money guzzlers and a tool for the humiliation of the poor who find it difficult to navigate the various fierce looking, gun-totting soldiers, to go looking what to eat. My point in this piece is for us to use Yakowa’s death to rethink our security strategies. Our government houses have been turned into fortresses and most government institutions and structures are looking like mini military cantonments all in an effort to protect our governors, lawmakers and other public functionaries. But the architect of this draconian security policy – the late Owoye Azazi – died in a chopper crash. He was “attacked” by death where you can’t erect a roadblock. I do not claim to know much about the man Azazi but I know him from reputation as the man indicted for the crime of unprecedented movement of military hardware to Niger Delta militants when he was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanised Division, Kaduna. He went on to head the Army and retire as Chief of Defence Staff. He reinvented himself during the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as the National Security Adviser (NSA) with enormous powers and influence. He is no more but his legacies of roadblocks live with us. The continued attacks by faceless terror groups who, for all we know, are hiding behind the mask of Boko Haram to perpetrate mayhem in the north, is a testament to the failure of these death traps. They are there simply to degrade and intimidate poor daily road users who cannot afford sirens. “ unquote
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⁠ There is no border sharing Between Nigeria and Mali. There is Niger republic, Burkina Faso and Togo in between. All these nations did not report of terrorism and suddenly we read in the news that ‘the Army Chief of Staff (COAS) Azubuike Ihejirika, who did not offer evidence, claimed that terrorists trained in Mali had already arrived on Nigerian shores. See: Here, Posted: January 17, 2013 - 22:19.

If what he said is true, then Nigerian is unnecessarily plunging itself into a War that will have a grievous consequence on our security without any foreseen benefit. Let us encourage the Malians tackle their insurgency peacefully not by taking sides. If however, the SS&SE (COAS) wants to use the volatile situation to build on what his predecessor Azazi implanted, then we leave him to posterity. Time will tell.

This man is a VERY BIG FHOOL