Former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmad Yerima has suggested that the Federal Government should negotiate with bandits in order for the country to record great progress like it experienced with Niger Delta militants.
He made the suggestion on Monday while speaking with State House correspondents after a courtesy visit to the president.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to engage the use of dialogue with bandits rather than military force, as the best way to address the insecurity challenge to resolve insurgency in the country.
According to him, the immediate past government failed in negotiating with bandits.
Yerima highlighted the success of late President Musa Yar’Adua’s negotiations with militants in the Niger Delta region in 2007, arguing that the feat is a precedent for peaceful resolution.
He said banditry is further exacerbated by the growing poverty and illiteracy in the region. While clarifying that he is not making a case for bandits, he maintained that the Federal Government can wield resources and political will to activate negotiation with the repentant ones.
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