Our Sheikh Gumi Problem
By
Sun Feb 28 2021
“He comes into this struggle for peace with a clear-eyed perspective and a very strong conviction,” wrote Professor Usman Yusuf about his medical school mate and friend, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, with whom he had been traversing the crevices of bandits to understand their perceived grievances and attempt to secure them amnesty from the government. Professor Yusuf’s Op-Ed, published on various online platforms, was a bid to emphasize that “Sheikh Gumi’s peace initiative is not at the behest of or sponsored by any government or group.”
What, however, began as an admittedly unsponsored intervention has been ruined by the Sheikh’s method. At first, his utterances in the media seem like attempts to appeal to the sentiments of the bandits, and that he merely said what those rural devils wanted to hear just to earn their trust. But his persistence, despite the unpleasant reactions, has confirmed that the Sheikh is much more than what his patronizing friend wrote.