By Chuks Eke
Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor (KSC), counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB has described the recent proposal of a prominent Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Gumi that government should arm Igbo youths to counter IPOB as malicious, misguided, divisive and inflammatory.
He said that Gumi, driven by questionable obsession with monetary benefits, has played a significant role in exacerbating terrorism an banditry across Northern Nigeria, adding that his actions have contributed to the region’s dire state of insecurity.
In a press statement issued to newsmen on Monday via WhatsApp, Ejiofor who turned 50 years last Friday, stated that Gumi has no doubt gained notoriety for his defence of individuals and groups waging violent campaigns against Nigeria, adding that despite his open affiliations with such elements, he remembered untouched, enjoying level of troubling immunity.
According to Ejiofor, “My attention has been drawn to an absurd statement by the prominent Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, widely reported across online and print media. In his latest opinion, Sheikh Gumi proposed that the government should arm Igbo youths to counter IPOB, a suggestion that is both divisive and inflammatory”.
“Sheikh Gumi is a complicity in Northern insecurity. He is a defender of enemies of the same. His accomplices are currently under investigation and that is why is offering a misguided advice on arming the Southeast region”.
“One of Gumi’s emissaries is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS for his role in promoting banditry. It is equally difficult to ignore the likelihood that Gumi covertly enables such activities while acting as their chief negotiator”.
“Gumi’s inability to address the rampant terrorism and insecurity in his region makes his advice to arm youths in the South East, not only hypocritical but also dangerous”.
“While manipulating the narrative against the South East, I must emphasize that it is crystal clear that the criminal activities in the South East are not the work of IPOB but rather, opportunistic criminals masquerading as freedom fighters. But Gumi’s suggestion would only serve to pitch Igbo people against one another, plunging the region into chaos”.
“It is note worthy that IPOB’s stance against criminals is very obvious, having repeatedly distanced itself from these criminal elements and, in its recent press release, even offered to collaborate with local security outfits to eliminate such threats”.
Emphatically, Gumi has a hidden Agenda with his ultimate goal appearing to be the destabilization of Igbo land, creating a scenario where brothers turn against brothers, resulting in needless bloodshed and destruction”.
He therefore called for unity against external I, adding that despite the political conspiracies against Ndigbo as the most marginalized ethnic group in Nigeria, Ndigbo have resolved to take their destiny into our own hands by joining hands together to fight the real intruders who wreak havoc in Igbo land.
“My clear message to Sheikh Gumi is that his divisive mission is dead on arrival. The Igbo people have learned their lessons through hard, harrowing and painful experiences and will never fall for such manipulative tactics”, said Ejiofor.
