There is the cliché, which states that Nigeria is or Nigerians are religious. What is actually being said is that, Nigerians manifest a near pious deposition, with a supposed love of God and the fear of not going against his will. Are Nigerians really religious by the definition provided above? No, the majority are not and aren’t close to being such. Rather, a large percentage of Nigerians have found religion as a refuge to bury their heads in, as a safe way of not dealing with structural challenges and a means of shying away from calling their gatekeepers to account.

Politics prior to 1999 was waged on the altar of regionalism and tribal sentiments, however the demystification of the military in politics became so manifest through religious bigotry. The emergence of the fourth republic led to some form of push back through religious grandstanding when sharia, suddenly was given a prominence that it had not asked for. With President Obasanjo attaining power, some entitled elements who had grown accustomed to being in the corridors of power felt that they had been deprived of their rights. The introduction of Sharia by some states in the north was not a call for a reformative order. It was a political push back dressed up in religious garb. This development was to sow the seeds of distrust, fear and apprehension among the not so politically sophisticated, who thought sooner the country would be overwhelmed by a religious revolution.

For those whose duty is to guide and act as gatekeepers, the perceived loss of privileges has turned them into desperate actors in the theatre of politics and governance. Sheikh Gumi wears the ceremonial regalia of a religious figure, but his antecedents and utterances are those of a politician without any political affiliation but rather uses religion to peddle a particular interest and wider agenda.

When bandits were ravaging the nation, killing innocent civilians and recking havoc on the economy, sheikh Gumi thought it better to treat the terrorists with kids gloves. He said the terrorists were uneducated, what an excuse for being a villain. Sheikh Gumi doesn’t identify with the Nigerian state or any of its institutions. He has shown time and time again his contempt for governments from the time of Obj up till recent times. Buhari also had a taste of the sheikh’s political recklessness, with no consequences. With such a long history of heating up the political space in the name of projecting religious advocacy, could it be that Gumi is the mask of powerful political vested interests or is he a masquerade whom some supposed untouchables rally behind? Why are governments over the years weary to curtail or contain this individual?

The emergence of Nyesom Wike the former governor of Rivers State as the FCT minister was bound to stir the polity, that’s a forgone conclusion bearing in mind the persona of Wike. The new FCT minister has unsurprisingly stamped his authority as expected, so why is Gumi fuming? The FCT is not a northern enclave which must be treated too sensitively, but a space where all Nigerians should lay a stake on and be allowed to thrive in it. Gumi’s use of religious innuendos to castigate Wike and frighten others Nigerians is a political stunt which must be rebuffed. After 63 years, the last thing on the mind of any Nigerian should be a retrogressive sense of entitlement. If we continue on such path, the chances of attaining development and growth will forever elude the country and its people.

It’s obvious that Sheikh Gumi and his co-travellers have gotten so hooked up on patronage and free lunch for so long based on the false premise that the country is their private estate and its resources are theirs to take at the flick of the finger. Well this mindset has kept the country backward and almost stagnant and of course, this is unsustainable.

The FCT minister mission is to administer and improve on the lives of its citizens and if that can’t be respected by the Sheikh and his cohorts, then they can only be classified rightly as saboteurs and unpatriotic. Mr Wike has a job to do and everyone irrespective of who they think they are would have to toe the line. The law is no respecter of anyone and Wike understands that perfectly well and wouldn’t hesitate to enforce it if needed.

(C) Copyright 2023, Olugbenga Adebanjo