Kaduna based Islamic scholar Dr Ahmad Gumi has commenced a Special Da’awah Programme to Fulani settlements and villages with the aim of teaching them about the religion of Islam and counselling them against criminalities.
The scholar started on Saturday with Fulani settlements (ruga) and villages in Jere, a town on the Kaduna-Abuja highway. The town is also situated in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
He was accompanied by the Chief Imam of Sultan Bello Mosque Kaduna Sheikh Muhammad Sulaiman Adam, media crew, representatives of Ulamas and students committees, security personnel etc.
In his remarks, Dr. Ahmad Gumi said stark illiteracy is what is ravaging the Fulani and pushing them into bad things, adding that the only panacea to the problem is knowledge.
He stressed that the first verse of the Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad S. A. W was iqra (read) signifying the importance of seeking knowledge.
Sheikh Gumi promised that with the little resources that the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Initiative for the Propagation of Sunnah has, it would build schools for Islamic knowledge and also select some Fulani among them who will undergo series of lectures and trainings with which they will return and educate their people in their respective communities.
The Fulani will also be trained on various businesses and skills to diversify.
A committee will be set up where the Fulani will be lodging complaints of any injustice against them by the government for follow up and/or seeking redress.
Some Islamic books that can assist the Fulani in knowing their religion were shared among them.
“The message was well received by the people as they even asked questions which were satisfactorily answered by Dr Ahmad.”
However, the Fulani leaders lamented that they were being unnecessarily profiled even though every tribe has its bad eggs. They also said the Fulani have suffered various form of molestation and abuse couple with total neglect by government.
They lamented the incessant molestation and sometimes killing of their members by some criminal elements among government security personnel.
They drew attention to how some of them were arrested and taken to the Katari police station but for the intervention of Dr Gumi.
One of the Fulani leaders admitted that their major challenge was illitracy as they have been left unattended without education, security and basic amenities.
In a similar development, they complained that as a result of the molestation and extortion by security personnel, their socio-economic status has not only been diminished but also crippled resulting in some of them being used as agents of kidnappers and bandits.
Dateline Nigeria reports that people have commended the Islamic scholar for his initiative, urging others to emulate him.
De Sulaiman A. Daji said “This is what all our scholars should do, enter the bush and preach to the Fulani communities. May Almighty Allah guide all those who contributed to this.”
