Gumi, Apostle of Peace, pays a visit to Igboho

Sheik Ahmad Gumi, a well-known Islamic cleric, paid a visit to Igboho town in Oyo State, South-West Nigeria, last weekend.

Sunday “Igboho” Adeyemo, hailed as a hero by his supporters and dubbed the “golden son of the town,” is viewed as a dangerous rabble rouser by his opponents. They accuse him of inciting racial animosity. The Department of State Services (DSS) claims that Igboho is stockpiling illegal weapons in a similar vein.

Igboho, who was previously only known in his home region of south-western Nigeria, rose to national prominence after becoming embroiled in one of the country’s deadliest conflicts – clashes between Fulani herders and other groups over land and grazing rights.

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Following the assassination of a politician (Fatai Aborode) in January, Igboho and other Yorubas felt they had had enough and demanded that the Fulani herders from northern Nigeria leave the south-west, which is considered the Yoruba ethnic group’s home, for all of their alleged crimes. Gumi, on the other hand, has a different viewpoint.

“This is a place where I believe Nigerians must recognize the importance of living together. Because there is nothing here that can justify people agitating to be separated from our beloved country Nigeria,” Gumi said, pointing to cattle grazing in a ‘pasture.’

Gumi was accompanied on the journey by Usman Yusuf, the former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), whose tenure was marred by financial scandals.

“This is Igboho, made famous by a detainee in the Benin Republic,” he said.

“Nigeria is and will always be one nation. We’ve just come from the hinterland (Ilesha-Baruba in Kwara State’s Baruten local government area), where we’ve seen examples of how people should live. And it is for this reason that we have come. Nigeria is our country, and we’re trying to figure out how to bring people of all faiths together. We don’t want Nigeria to be poisoned by Igboho.

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“And there are those who claim Nigeria is divided. No. Nigeria is being sunk by the elites, not the common people. The people in general are all the same.

Igboho, a self-styled activist, hails from the Aladikun compound in Modake, Igboho, Oke Ogun, Oyo state, where Gumi and his associates also stopped by.