Adamawa Muslim Council Criticizes Organizers of Gongola Elders Forum
From Umar Dankano, Yola
The Adamawa State Muslim Council has expressed its dismay over what it describes as the divisive tactics employed by the regional group, Gongola Elders Forum (GEF), accusing them of attempting to create unnecessary political discord in the state.
Chairman of the Council, Gambo Jika, made this position clear during the public presentation of the Hijrah Calendar 1446 (AH) and the fifth Annual General Meeting held in Yola over the weekend. Jika accused the organizers of the Gongola Elders Forum of deliberately trying to divide the people along regional, religious, and tribal lines.
Jika condemned these divisive tendencies, asserting that the mission of the GEF is “dead on arrival.” He emphasized that Adamawa Muslims are too united and strong to be undermined by such tactics.
It can be recalled that in June 2024, the Gongola Elders Forum organized a stakeholders’ meeting in Yola, where they resolved to chart a new course for ethnic nationalities in an effort to address what they called years of “political and economic marginalization.”
Jika noted that the Council had chosen to maintain a mature and calculated stance during this provocation but warned that this silence should not be mistaken for weakness.
He emphasized that Muslims in Adamawa hold significant influence and political power and will not tolerate any attempts to stir up sectional, religious, or ethnic sentiments for political gain. He called on the ethnic nationalities to seek mediation and work towards peace and harmony instead of resorting to divisive tactics.
“They are trying to create divisions, and we will not allow it in Adamawa. I want to use this opportunity to tell the organizers of the forum that their mission is dead on arrival. What happened in 1979 will never repeat itself in Adamawa State. We will not allow politics of sentiments, ethnicity, and religious divisions to gain traction again,” Jika stated.
He also criticized the forum for excluding Muslims from their discussions, questioning why no Muslim from Adamawa was deemed worthy of an invitation, despite the significant Muslim population in the state. “Even the Lamido was shunned, but the organizers deemed it fit to invite the Aku Uka to lead the gathering,” he added.
Jika concluded by reiterating that the Muslim community in Adamawa will continue to stand strong against any attempts to undermine their influence. He warned that no conspiracy against them would succeed.
The event was attended by several prominent personalities, including frontline Kano-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, among others.
