Gumi’s approach to insecurity better than Igboho’s, says Shagari’s son

BELLO Shagari, a grandson of former President Shehu Shagari, has said there is no basis for comparison between the style adopted by Sheikh Gumi to solving the problem of insecurity and that of the Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo better known as Sunday Igboho.

Bello said while Gumi is a genuine pacifist with no ulterior motive, Igboho is a war-monger inciting people of his ethnic group against others.

Sheikh Gumi has been at the vanguard of the campaign for amnesty for bandits terrorising the Northern part of the country.

Gumi had asserted at different occasions that most bandits have their genuine grievances, urging the government to enter into negotiations with them to know what they are instead of launching attacks against them.

The cleric, who from all indications have the ears of the bandits, has been assisting the government in negotiating with bandits to secure the release of the abducted Kagara students and staff.

Meanwhile, his intervention has been attracting criticisms from some quarters

But the former President’s grandson described Gumi’s intervention as grossly misunderstood, adding that what he was doing could improve the insecurity in the country.

Bello tweeted, “When Sheikh Gumi started his mission, someone told me that the man is likely to be misunderstood. It is happening already. The man may be wrong in his approach, but he started it as a means of intervention, after tired of simply being a critic of the govt and the situation.

“Instead of being seen as a brave cleric facing these criminals face to face, Sheikh Gumi is seen, by those who misunderstood, as either the northern interest, government agent and sometimes even as criminal himself.

“He is just a volunteer working on his own. Yes, you can compare Sunday Igoho with Sheikh Gumi in the sense that they are intervening. However, while Sheikh is calling for peace, Sunday is calling for war. The sheikh is not inciting anyone unlike Sunday openly.”

However, Bello’s comment attracted mostly negative comments from many who said it was wrong to compare the two.