Prominent Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi claimed that he didn’t say that presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari is corrupt during his meeting with Ohaneze Ndigbo.
It should be noted that Sheikh Gumi lambasted all retired military men in the country who had at one time or the other terminated civilian regimes, saying that such men in politics have no moral justification to complain of rigging in 2015 general elections.
The SaharaReporters published his letter, in which Gumi spoke about misrepresentations and distortions of particularly his comments.
Sheikh Gumi said: “For the records, I am not a politician and I don’t have sympathy for any of the political parties. My commitment for those that are fair and following what I do is always to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the conduct of all politicians and for the major stakeholders to avoid overheating our already saturated polity. If some of my comments, which some considered nasty and against their political interest and pursuit, will ultimately alert our largely unenlightened youths and subsequently prevent the looming bloodshed I foresaw, then the abuses and allegations of compromise against my person will be my own sacrifice to this nation.
“It does not matter the malicious opinion of anybody against whosoever did anything for the sake of Allah because He knows the secrets of our hearts and He is the ultimate judge. I am always very conscious of everything I write and I will always accept responsibility no matter who feels offended. As an Islamic scholar the supporters of Jonathan or Buhari should not expect me to embark on campaign or to compel people to vote a candidate they don’t want. My responsibility is to guide and alert the nation based on what I know and my conviction, while the people have the final say. In the process, like all mortals, I can be wrong. What is important in Islam is to act strictly for the sake of Allah.
“I have not said, as reported during the Ndigbo visit to me, that General Buhari is also corrupt as purported and erroneous disseminated. In any case, it is not my duty to determine whether anybody is corrupt or not or to even pass a damning verdict on him.
“May I state, however, that the content of my recent posting as clear as it is was publicized by some media outfits to deliberately mislead the public about my position? Many view it against Buhari or an endorsement for Jonathan. The records too are very clear. There is no Nigerian leader I persistently criticize and condemn like Jonathan because of the failure of his leadership to address many serious national issues and his deliberate policies against the interest of the north, but the supporters of Buhari are too blind to go through the records once he is criticized. In Nigeria today, criticizing Buhari will automatically qualify one to be a Kafir in the eyes of his supporters. They see anyone that speaks against what they believe in as a Jonathan man.
“The fact that there is religion in politics and politics in religion is the reason why I believe it is a duty for me to be consistent in addressing issues of public interest and to ensure that no human blood drops for the sake of anybody’s ambition, including the ambition of Jonathan and Buhari.
‘’My comments on avoiding violence during the election is not only limited to the supporters of Buhari as mischievously being insinuated but extended to the supporters of Jonathan as well. In fact that is why before the two parties held their presidential conventions I repeatedly urged the parties to do away with the candidatures of Jonathan and Buhari because of the potential danger of doing so. But now that they didn’t listen and produced Jonathan and Buhari, it is obvious that only one of them will eventually become president in 2015. At this point I must say, therefore, that we must prepare our minds and accept the outcome of the election as much as it is conducted under reasonable fairness. This is better than the risk of losing one human life because of the ambition of Jonathan or Buhari. If the lives are worth sacrificing why is it that the children of Buhari and Jonathan did not participate in the election violence of 2011? Politicians must not deceive us to sacrifice our lives, and I believe that provoking violence is not only limited to the supporters of Jonathan or Buhari because INEC and the security agencies too if they did not conduct themselves impartially there will be danger and tendency of violence. So they must be careful as well because anything they do against the spirit of justice and fairness during the election can be costly to the nation. But the public must be patient no matter the level of provocation and injustice because at the end of it all and due to our collective prayers Allah (SWT) will provide the way out for Nigeria.”
