Nigeria is infected with Leprosy- Gumi

…There is no DSS Invasion

By Maryam Musa
In a public lecture entitled “Insecurity In Nigeria: The Causes and Youth Panacea” he delivered on Wednesday at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria at Samatu main campus, renowned Islamic scholar in Islamic jurisprudence, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi said Nigeria under the current administration is infected with leprosy. Sheikh Gumi lamented to his audience which includes senior lecturers and students that unless and until this leprosy is cured sincerely and with all commitment by the leadership of the country Nigeria will not know peace and that poverty despite several government interventions that are largely being mismanaged and diverted will continue to experience increased hardship and poverty.

The well attended lecture as reported by DESERT HERALD was organised by the National Association of Social Sciences Students, Ahmadu Bello University Chapter. Gumi further lamented that the increasing insecurity in Nigeria don’t need any definition. “Nobody is secured
socially, economically, physically, or even mentally. No personality. No institution
is secured from collapse or failure of the system. No tribe, religion, region, or section of the society that is not both a villain and a victim one way or the other. Sorry to say, we are a
collective failure and we should all bear the responsibility”.

Gumi said Nigeria in the parable is like a leper catching HIV/AIDS. “Why speak in parables?
We saw in the bible, how Jesus Christ when addressing the multitudes
speaks in parables.
“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a
parable spake he not unto them:’ ‘And the disciples came, and said unto
him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?’ ‘ Therefore speak I to
them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand”.

Explaining why he said Nigeria is infected with leprosy, Sheikh Gumi a medical doctor by training said “what happens in leprosy, the CNS i.e. the brain, is disconnected from the peripheral nerves that transmit pain signals to the brain from the extremities. The disconnection is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, a chronic infectious disease called Hansen’s disease. A leper loses his fingers and extremities from injuries incurred from lack of sensation. So, it is a physical deformity caused by a severed nerved through the disease processes. If you consider the brain to be the Central Government, then because it’s not getting the true picture of the situation outside (in the periphery), the populace would be grounded into pieces by excoriating policies that don’t consider
the wellbeing of the common folk, then such nation would be ruled by the textbook
standards, not by pragmatic realities and the exigencies of the moment. Hansen’s
disease is the broken governance and cumbersome bureaucracy that slows it down
to a halt.
“When such a leper then catches AIDS which refers to acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome. With this condition, the immune system is weakened due to HIV
infection the human immunodeficiency virus. All the defense systems will be
paralysed and the patient would be invaded by simple microorganisms like fungus
etc. That otherwise the body defense system will repel. The HIV Virus is the corruption
in the Military and security defense system. Corruption paralysis the systems, so that
common criminality would become the order of the day.
Just recently, in March 2021, A high security expert who should know better was
quoted as saying he does not know the whereabouts of the $1 billion approved by
the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for tackling the nation’s security challenges.
The money was approved in December 2017 following the upsurge in Boko Haram
insurgency, herdsmen killings, kidnappings, and banditry in parts of the federation.
Meaning in 43 months (three years 7 months) such a colossal amount of money
cannot be traced by a person who should know better and yet, the insecurity has only
worsened. This is a classical case of HIV. You don’t need HIV tests and auditing of
accounts. It’s a smoking gun something is amiss.
Another example of security failure is the misplacement of priority in spending. If
my figures are correct, at the moment, the Nigerian population is approximated at
220 million with the personnel strength of the Nigeria Police Force at 370,000 which
is quite above the UN recommended police per capita of 230 police per 100,000
people. However, this figure is contentious because in 2017, the IGP then said
Nigeria need about 155,000 police men to meet up with the UN standard

For instance, in southern Kaduna, where tension is perennial, the police need about
10 APCs but as of early this year when we went there for a peace mission, they have
only one functional APC to respond to an emergency. You will find this vital
institution of internal security lacking in basic equipment from communication
gadgets, ammunitions, and protective gears, yet, the government can spend an
enormous over $400 million on 12 super Tucano aircraft that are neither good for wading
off eternal aggression nor specific targeting an internal insurgency. If only two were
bought and a whopping $330m is spent in training and equipping the police, the
difference will be immediately felt.

Gumi said Nigerian government is not even near to addressing the numerous challenges facing the country which he believes were the reasons of untold poverty and unprecedented insecurity particularly across the north western part of Nigeria. He said the absence of government in virtually all rural areas and forest is very much conspicuous while many of those areas was taken over by outlaws. He said good government is felt by the provision of basic amenities like hospitals, schools, water, security and telecommunications not by bombings that is not achieving the desired results despite the billions that are being spent during such operations. Sheikh Gumi disclosed that such billions will be more than enough to address the genesis of the insecurity particularly related to the Fulani herdsmen that are today carrying arms against the population.

“Therefore, poverty, hunger, unemployment, illiteracy, out-of-school children, drug
abuse, and hopelessness among our youth are the biggest threats to security.
As a matter of urgency, the government should spend and invest more in improving
the human developmental indices especially among the youth. These social factors
are the enablers and catalysts of insecurity and unless and until they are addressed Nigeria will not know peace”.

He further lamented excruciating poverty which he said is the trajectory of the Nigerian economy for the past 20 years. He said it’s a shame that from the President, ministers and other privileged Nigerians every one used to send their children to study abroad, a situation that has indicted their pledges and promises to nation.

Gumi said Nigerians have lost hope completely on the judiciary as getting justice in Nigeria today has become a nightmare which was why according to him people resort to self-help or taking laws into their hands.

Meanwhile, DESERT HERALD can report that contrary to some online reports that the DSS has invaded the venue of the lecture at ABU, Zaria and even made arrests is totally not true as at the time Sheikh Gumi and his entourage left the premises of the instutition after witnessing the entire event and even taking time to do a photo session with organisers of the event and other students.