Sheikh Gumi begins tour of Yorubaland, visits Igboho, says no need to break up Nigeria ( Watch Video)
By Ahmed Abiola
The controversial Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi has paid an historic but surprised to some parts of Yorubaland including the hometown of detained Pan Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho).
Accompanied by some Islamic scholars and Fulani leaders, Gumi said he visited the town and other Yoruba towns to inform Nigerians that there was no need to break up the country.
He said “Today, we have visited this town, Igboho. We can see some cattle grazing in their courtyards. We need to understand that we need to live together. Because I have seen nothing here to warrant people to agitate that they should be separated from our beloved country Nigeria. He said Nigeria should remain one indivisible country.
In his reaction, an official of the Apapo Oodua Koya, (AOKOYA) who spoke to Irohinoodua in Oyo State Sadiq Abayomi said the visit of the Sheik came as a surprise to the people of Igboho and environs. “We were surprised to see the Sheik coming to Igboho. He said he was in the town to talk about the unity of Nigeria. This simply shows that all his utterances and actions and the defence of the armed herdsmen is tailored towards maintain the Nigerian status quo,” Abayomi said.
Abayomi said while on the visit, the Sheik did not at anytime condemn the brutal killings perpetrated by the armed Fulani neither did he make reference to the plight of raped women and Yoruba farmers who have been sent away from their farms but rather concentrated on one agenda which is that Nigeria must be a united country. “His visit is suspicious. He came to condemn Igboho but was silent on the conditions that produced Igboho in the first place. While the Sheik spoke about a united Nigeria, he was silent on the need for justice and did not make any reference to the brutal killings of Yoruba people by armed Fulani including the murder of a first class traditional rule in Ondo State.” Abayomi said
However, Prof Usman Yusuf, a Fulani leader who accompanied Sheik Gumi said “This is Igboho, made famous by a detainee in Benin Republic. Nigeria is one, we will always remain one. We just came from the hinterland where we have seen examples of how people should live. This is why we are here. Nigeria is our country and we are working to see how we can come together, all faith. The towns we went to, Ilesa, Burata, or is it Buratai, you see churches, you see Mosques, you see Fulani, you see the natives, you see Yoruba s all coming together. This is the Nigeria we grew up in, not the poisoned Nigeria this Igboho, Igboho people, and people say Nigeria is divided. It is the elite that are dividing Nigeria, not the common people. The common people are all the same. We are here as Nigerians and we shall continue to be one.”
