{"id":125972,"date":"2026-03-03T04:18:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=125972"},"modified":"2026-03-03T04:18:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:18:35","slug":"group-flays-gumis-tribute-to-irans-khamenei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/group-flays-gumis-tribute-to-irans-khamenei\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Flays Gumi\u2019s Tribute to Iran\u2019s Khamenei"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n
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The Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) has sharply rebuked Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi for praising Iran\u2019s late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, calling the tribute \u201cmisguided and inflammatory\u201d just days after the Ayatollah\u2019s reported death in a joint United States, Israeli airstrikes.<\/div>\n
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In a statement released on Monday via his X and Facebook platforms, CCDI President Olufemi Aduwo said portraying Khamenei as a symbol of justice ignores decades of repression and destabilising foreign policy under his rule.<\/div>\n
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Gumi had described the Ayatollah as dying \u201cin Allah\u2019s cause,\u201d defending oppressed people in Iran and Gaza, including women and children, whom he said had been killed by enemies of the Islamic faith.<\/div>\n
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He\u00a0 called Khamenei a martyr whose death would inspire transformation across the Muslim Ummah.<\/div>\n
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Aduwo countered that such rhetoric romanticizes a \u201ctheocratic autocrat\u201d whose 37-year reign entrenched authoritarianism rather than equity.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Khamenei assumed office as Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader in 1989 following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini and remained the country\u2019s highest political and religious authority for nearly four decades.<\/div>\n
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During his tenure, Iran faced longstanding accusations from Western governments over support for armed non-state actors across the Middle East.<\/div>\n
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The United States designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984, a designation that persisted throughout Khamenei\u2019s leadership.<\/div>\n
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According to Aduwo, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), particularly its Quds Force, expanded Tehran\u2019s regional influence by backing groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0He cited successive U.S. State Department reports alleging Iran provided funding, training, and weapons to these groups, allegations Tehran has consistently denied or framed as support for legitimate resistance movements.<\/div>\n
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Aduwo warned that celebrating Khamenei\u2019s legacy risks \u201cwhitewashing a record of state-sponsored terror\u201d and could embolden extremist sentiments beyond the Middle East, including in Nigeria.<\/div>\n
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Gumi has long been a controversial figure in Nigeria. Many citizens have criticized him as a careless talker, questioning why his statements have often gone unchecked.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Some have remarked that if he were an Igbo man, he \u201cwould long have been captured and caged,\u201d reflecting frustrations over perceived double standards in public accountability.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAuthentic progress for the Ummah lies not in idolizing despots,\u201d Aduwo said, \u201cbut in repudiating their tyrannical paradigms.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The statement adds to ongoing national conversations about foreign ideological influence, responsible leadership, and the role of public commentary in shaping Nigeria\u2019s democratic values.<\/div>\n
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