Renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has condemned the position of the Federal Government regarding media reporting and coverage of the lingering insecurity in the country.
He specifically faulted the government’s plan to sanction the BBC Africa Eye and Daily Trust TV for their recent reports.
Recall that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said ion Thursday July 28, that Trust TV and the BBC would be sanctioned over documentaries on banditry which he claimed “glorified activities of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria”.
Reacting to this in a statement on Friday July 29, Gumi accused the federal government of attempting to blackmail media houses to cover and justify its ”glaring failure after wasting over $16 billion in the last seven years without any commensurate result on security.”
The cleric commended local and international media organisations for coming out boldly to report about the magnitude of the insecurity, the government’s wrong approach to tackling the crisis, and how it has become a lucrative business for the criminals and few in the position of power and authority.
The statement read;
“FG’s attempt in trying to find a scapegoat to justify its glaring failure after wasting over $16 billion in the last seven years without any commensurate result on security and efforts to blackmail certain media organisations for their patriotism in reporting the crisis is unfortunate and should be resisted by all responsible media organisations.
“What is happening in Nigeria today, especially in the North West as clearly captured by the BBC, is more of an ethnic war and reprisal killings and attacks due to the government’s failure to address well-documented instances of injustices that were initially done to the Fulanis.
“What do you expect from a society (Fulani) that was left in total ignorance and lack of education, especially when their primary means of livelihood (cattle) has been completely rustled by other criminal elements within and outside our security agencies without any effort by the government to address the injustice.
“As I talk to you now, cattle rustling has not stopped. Many law-abiding Fulanis have fallen victims to the official extortion of their cows.
I have well-documented evidence involving some security agents in which I personally intervened.
” How do you expect as a government to address insecurity, especially related to Fulani bandits without addressing such instances of extortion and rustling?”
He added; “When a Commander-in-Chief rewards failure with Ambassadorial appointments in a system and a society that records increased attacks, when security agencies cannot even protect Abuja and especially when the Guards Brigade cannot even protect themselves not to talk of the President then why blaming the media for such failure and ineptitude for reporting it?”
