Renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, has urged Bola Tinubu to engage in negotiations with numerous bandit groups responsible for widespread violence across the nation.
A former military officer, Gumi argued that allocating substantial funds for weaponry to combat insurgency was outdated and an inefficient use of taxpayers’ money. The controversial religious figure stressed the importance of adopting non-kinetic approaches to address insecurity.
Gumi asserted that banditry stemmed from the longstanding farmer-herder crisis in the Northern region, characterizing it as a social issue that could be resolved through honest dialogue with the perpetrators.
In response to the military intervention in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State, Gumi expressed his belief that the military should refrain from involvement in internal security challenges. He advocated for a bolstered police force to tackle problems like banditry.
READ MORE: Reps Passed 120 Bills in Six Months — Speaker
Gumi said, “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.”
He continued by suggesting that funds should be redirected towards effective policies and stronger policing, involving the community in the process.
“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,” he added.