President Ahmad Bola Tinubu, has said that the joint military cooperation between Nigeria and the United States of America is purely a military approach aimed at tackling terrorists and keeping Nigeria citizens safe.
“Our security alliance with the government of the United States of America is focused on the fight against terrorism and the protection of vulnerable groups and communities. It is strategic military cooperation that nonetheless respects our sovereignty and is operationally led by our national troops,” he said.
Speaking during the 4th International Conference of the Center of Islamic Civilization and Interfaith Dialogue of the Bayero University, BUK, Kano, tagged Remembering the Legacies and Contributions Of late Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, President Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Information, Mr Mohammed Idris, insisted the cooperation is for the good of the overall Nigerian populace.
He said, “nevertheless, despite all we do militarily as a nation, the path to lasting peace and unity lies in our resolve to respect one another, cherish our religious and socio-cultural diversity, and coexist amicably.”
President Tinubu reminded Nigerians that this is in the spirit of the late Sheikh Mahmud Abubakar Gumi, as a man who exemplified patience, justice and fairness, speaks to the consciousness of the organisers of this conference in the noble task of sustaining our nationhood through mutual respect, tolerance, and patriotism.
The President explained that, “Our national security is tied to our unity, our togetherness, and our respect for religious diversity. We must forge a united front against those who challenge our national cohesion. We are in dire need of solidarity of purpose to safeguard our nation from criminal elements, bandits and terrorists, whose raison d’etre is untenable, and therefore we must resist their Balkanizing intentions, but only through shared values and patriotism.
“My administration is working assiduously to protect life and property, and executing the fight against terror with all that is at our disposal. We are determined to entrench community policing through the instrument of the state police, for which I have encouraged state governments to initiate, while the National Assembly attends to the constitutional imperatives.”
“We have deployed more than 7,000 trained forest guards to deny sanctuary to criminals in our forest corridors. Following my declaration of a national security emergency in November 2025, we have since expanded and reinforced security in states badly affected by banditry and acts of terrorism.”
Tinubu added that, “We have optimized intelligence-led operations in federal and state security operations to disrupt and dismantle terrorist and criminal networks”
Coming back to the legacies of Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gummi, he said, he was a scholar of gargantuan knowledge, who, in addition to religious excellence, also understood the intersection of faith and politics, and became a pillar and front-row influencer of our nation’s political direction.
” He was there in the beginning, and, in the aftermath of independence and the civil war, coordinated with authorities to promote oneness and peaceful coexistence.Sheikh Gummi is a first amongst equals. He was a teacher, a khadi, a reformer, a leader, an advisor, and a prodigious writer who earned global recognition for his translation of the Holy Qur’an into Hausa.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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