- He claimed dialogue is the key to achieving security
Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, a prominent Islamic cleric and former military officer based in Kaduna, has urged the Nigerian Government to consider engaging in negotiations with bandits and other non-state actors causing turmoil across the country.
In an interview with Trust TV, Gumi criticized the government’s approach of spending substantial amounts combating banditry and terrorism, advocating instead for dialogue as the key to achieving security.
He highlighted the long-standing farmer-herder crisis in the North as a root cause of the country’s security challenges and emphasized the necessity of resolving it through negotiation rather than military action.
Furthermore, Gumi criticized the recent mistaken bombardment of Tudun Biri residents in Kaduna State by the Nigerian military. He suggested redirecting focus towards strengthening the capacity of the police force to handle internal security matters, urging the government to prevent military intervention in such cases.
“This is not the first time such is happening. The military should fight the military. Tank by tank. Jet by jet. The military should be out of fighting insecurity. We are not fighting Cameroon or Togo,” the cleric was quoted by Daily Trust as saying.
He continued: “And the jet fighters should not be used on citizens. I cannot imagine any American president, no matter how instructive, would use F16 to bombard Americans. Impossible. He would go down the next day.
“What we need are very good policies. Then stronger policing. That’s where our money should go. All those people should be involved in community policing.
“In every society you have very good people and they are the majority. Nigerians are very humble people; very resilient who can sustain a lot of hardship. So I don’t see why good governance and good policing should be a big deal.
“All the money we spend on buying all these Second World War aeroplanes and artillery and jets to fight insurgency is an archaic way of dealing with this issue. And billions of naira are spent on that.
“Negotiate with these people. Build for them schools and hospitals. Let them have future. Build for them markets. Even the people we call bandits, what they sometimes complain is that they no longer have cattle markets because whenever they establish market, it gets destroyed.
“So the military should be out of this picture completely. We are not fighting a foreign country. We should develop our internal security.”