Gumi To FG: Negotiate With Bandits, They’re Ready To Drop Weapons
Popular Kaduna-Based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has restated his position that Nigeria should adopt a non-kinetic method to tackle insecurity, saying some armed groups are ready to surrender.
Gumi made this known on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, arguing that focusing solely on military force may not yield lasting results.
According to him, the government should give room for a non-kinetic approach.
“We have people who are ready to put down their arms, so why do you always decide it has to be kinetic?” he said.
He compared Nigeria’s situation with global conflicts, noting that even powerful nations struggled with similar challenges.
“Even America could not succeed in Afghanistan, even Israel could not succeed in a small strip of land. Our army is not designed for guerrilla warfare; no army is designed for the kind of people we are facing now, no army is designed for it.”
Speaking on whether remorseful offenders should be reintegrated, Gumi explained the difference between communal conflict and individual crime.
“You’re saying that it’s a communal clash, it’s different from individual criminality. That’s why, after the civil war, atrocities were committed from both sides, and over two million people died, and yet the engineers were pardoned… because it’s communal.
“But if it’s an individual killing an individual now, this law will come in. But when communities are fighting, who are you going to judge? So now we’re trying to stop bleeding,” he said
