Cold War Between Sheiks Bauchi And Gumi At Joint Wedding of VP Sambo’s Daughters Dampens His Northern Re-Unification Plans

Islamic sheikhs - Dan Bauchi and Ahmad Gumi

By SaharaReporters, New York

Another competent source watching political activities of Vice President Namadi Sambo in Abuja and abroad has told SaharaReporters that the fallout in Kaduna at the weekend at his daughter’s wedding between famous Sheiks Dahiru Usman Bauchi and the fearless Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has further dampened the Vice-President’s hopes of achieving re-unification of several warring Islamic clergies in Northern Nigeria and extending his political mileage in the area.

Sambo, the source said, is still troubled by the aftermath of the altercations, in view of his slim political prominence in the North.

Not only was he embarrassed in all of the 2011 general elections, he also proved to be no factor in the recently-concluded local government elections in Kaduna State where, again, he lost even in his own his polling unit.

The source said, “He has been working hard to win big guys of Northern politics, particularly within the Muslim cycle and you can see that the likes of Buhari, Babangida, Atiku and others have been soft on him.  Hence he started spreading to the cleric cycles and you know bringing top Izala and Darika is not an easy task. And eventually it scuttles every other hard work of reuniting all feuding sides in the Muslim quarters. ”

Sambo, he further said, has suffered in several political and religious battles, beginning with accusations of betraying Kaduna Muslims by accepting to be Vice President, in the process creating the vacuum that led to a Christian becoming executive governor of Kaduna state for the first time in its history.  He has also failed allegations from some prominent Northern Muslims of actually hailing originally from Auchi, Edo State, and not being a full-fledged Northerner.

“Go and study it, is Sambo a Hausa man or Fulani man? His real identity is shrouded in secrecy, it has no definite answer. Yes, his wife is from Kano and mother Zaria, but who has cleared the air?

He is also suffering of being novice in Northern politics and badly being surrounded by inept power hungry cabals, who are only trading in him as political merchandise. I am afraid, his case may be deadly than that of Atiku because, Jonathan and his power brokers can crush him and sacrifice him without soft landing base.”

With reference to what led to Gumi’s lashing of Sheik Bauchi, our source explained: “Bauchi recited ‘Salatil Fatih’ and Gumi challenged him on why he will recite that in Sultan Bello Mosque, knowing that it is Izala base.  Dahiru Bauchi’s followers were there and got irked, the same it was with Izala followers, who were behind Gumi. It is a decades of cold war between the father of Gumi, late Sheik Gumi and Sheik Bauch that was just renewed in Sambo's children function.”

Prior to the confrontation between the two religious figures, Sambo was already in another presidential palace cold war with President Jonathan, who, despite knowing for months of the forthcoming wedding of Sambo’s daughters, somehow decided to bury his brother on the same day.