Except for Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, Nigerian Army rarely mentions anyone’s name in its bulletins. Today however, it took a swipe at prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for saying it was non-Muslim soldiers that attack [allegedly Muslim] bandits. Warning the Sheikh to desist, NA said it does not deploy troops based on ethnic or religious considerations.
Gumi, who should know better, being an ex-Army officer, lamely replied that he was not referring to today’s Army but the Nigerian Army of 2010-2015, supposedly because the Army Chiefs then were not Muslims.
It was a most reckless and untruthful charge. Our troops of all tribes and religions are fighting and dying every day in the hands of insurgents and bandits. If the Nigerian Army splits along regional or religious lines, that could be the end of Nigeria as we know it. Gumi’s charge was a most unbecoming and a most dangerous falsehood.
