The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has expressed disappointment over President Muhammadu Buhari’s indifferent attitude toward comments made by popular Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who made spurious claims, alleging that Christian soldiers were behind attacks on communities in the North.
According to Gumi, these attacks and extrajudicial killings, particularly in Fulani settlements, has greatly affected "almost every Fulani family in the forest", thereby pushing many into banditry.
But can said such claims by Gumi are not only spurious, but also further deepen the divide in a country already struggling to fix its unity crisis.
The Christian body therefore, called on Gumi to immediately withdraw the “unpatriotic and divisive utterances” credited to him in the interest of peace and unity of the country.
The body also accused Buhari's government or double standards, saying the likes of Obadiah Mailafia, had to entertain invitations by security agents in the country for their comments, but Gumi and other islamic clerics go about freely and even being celebrated despite making dangerous and more disturbing comments.
The statement signed by CAN General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, partly reads, “If anyone said it was the Christian soldiers who are attacking armed bandits, that person does not wish this country well and he doesn’t want the war against terrorism and banditry to end in victory.
“Gumi’s so-called audio evidence cannot be taken seriously because audio evidence can be deliberately arranged to make a point. Secondly, how can we ascertain the credibility of the person alleging that it was the Christian soldiers that were attacking communities and bandits?
“This unreasonable outburst is not only demoralising and a plot to divide the Nigerian military into two along religious lines, it equally derogatively portrays the non-Christian soldiers as not being committed to fighting criminality.
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s prolonged silence is tantamount to an endorsement of Gumi’s dangerous statement. If what Gumi reportedly said was attributed to a Christian leader, the security operatives would have invited him or declared him wanted and the Presidency would have publicly condemned that Christian leader.
“We recall how Apostle Johnson Suleiman, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, Prophet Isa El-Buba and of recent, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Hassan Kukah’s statements were handled by security operatives and equally reacted to by the government. Do we truly have sacred cows in the country now?”