Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, seems to be the chief advocate for bandits as he recently said that the Nigerian military has been too hard on bandits.
Gumi had the temerity to say that because in his opinion, the ground and air strikes launched by the Army and Air Force have killed bandits, their families – wives and children, that these attacks have angered the bandits, as they see the military attacks as a war, hence the new attacks and abductions.
The cleric made this assertion while speaking on Twitter spaces organised by Daily Trust recently. In other words, Gumi is blaming the military and other security agents for going after these outlaws.
He wants these outlaws to be pampered, he wants the terrorists to be mollified and spoon fed even as they wreak havoc on the North. According to Gumi, it is only a non-kinetic approach that can halt the activities of bandits. One can only wonder on whose side Gumi operates!
The cleric seemed more concerned about the impact of the military bombardment on the terrorists than the military who have lost officers and men to these non-state actors. Who would forget that in September 2023, nearly 22 soldiers were ambushed and killed by bandits in Shiroro local government area of Niger State. Even when a military helicopter was sent to rescue about seven of the wounded soldiers, the military helicopter was shot down by bandits. In all, about 30 of the finest soldiers of the Nigerian army were killed. It is the killers of these fine soldiers that Gumi wants our government to pamper instead of holding them accountable for their crimes and terror against law-abiding citizens.
Comparing Bandits To Niger Delta Militants
The cleric likes to compare bandits with Niger Delta militants. He also said that the Niger-Delta region is relatively peaceful after the Nigerian government granted amnesty to militants, noting that the same method must be applied to bandits currently ravaging the country. Gumi wants President Bola Tinubu to grant amnesty to the terrorists, like former President Musa Yar’Adua granted amnesty to Niger-Delta militants, a gesture which stopped the kidnapping of expatriates.
It is indeed ridiculous to compare what killer herdsmen and bandits are doing to what Niger Delta militants did. The Niger Delta militants were not destroying and killing people. They were not plundering cities and livelihoods or turning millions of rural residents into internally displaced persons (IDPs), they did not drive away poor peasants from their ancestral homes. They were not going about killing innocent people.
What is happening in the North-West, North Central, North East is purely criminality and these people should be treated as criminals. It is totally condemnable that Sheik Gumi seems to be a spokesman and defender in Chief of these bandits. He is being ridiculous and he should be ignored by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Obviously, he likes to hug the limelight with his absurd theatricals.
Sponsors Of Terrorism
After the Federal Government released lists of terrorism sponsors in the country, an action for which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been praised for. Gumi again came after the government for this action in furtherance of national security. To Gumi, the government lied, he insisted that no Nigerian is financing terrorism as claimed by the federal government.
Speaking on that Twitter spaces programme, he said: “No Nigerian will put his money into
terrorism, we’re beyond that. These people are financing themselves by taking our children for ransom.” So Gumi knows more than the federal government? Is he implying that he has more intelligence capabilities than the NSA? FGN in a release, said it has uncovered the identity of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, allegedly involved in terrorism financing.
Details of the development were revealed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, in an email sent to several media organisations entitled “Designation of Individuals and Entities for March 18, 2024.”
Gumi also knows better or more than United Arab Emirates (UAE) which in September, 2021 listed six Nigerians that have been designated as terrorism sponsors by the Middle East country. The state-owned news agency, WAM, had made this known in a report.
Those named by UAE as terrorism sponsors in Nigeria were not prosecuted by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, because Buhari’s government lacked the political will, perhaps President Tinubu should revisit that matter.
However, as far as Gumi is concerned nobody is sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria, the terrorists are ‘self-sponsored.’
Also, his emphatic assertion that there is no military solution to the insecurity problems Nigeria is currently facing is worrisome. He seems comfortable talking about negotiating with terrorists while the terrorists themselves go about destroying lives and livelihoods across the North.
Why Gumi Wants Tinubu To Negotiate With Terrorists
In the interview with Arise News he said that the Nigerian government should emulate how the United States’ government negotiated with the Taliban terrorists by also having a dialogue with the bandits to prevent the insurgency in the country. Again this is a faulty comparison.
America only negotiated with the Taliban because America was fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, thousands of miles from the American soil. America will never negotiate with a band of terrorists or bandits terrorizing American citizens, farmers or communities in Texas, or Chicago or New York etc.
“If we can see Israel and Hamas exchanging prisoners, I don’t see why we can’t negotiate. If Americans can negotiate with the Taliban, I don’t see why we can’t. They (foreign governments) can’t impose on us their own ideas when behind the door, they also negotiate with these terrorists.”
Also in the case of Hamas, the organization is based in Gaza and not in Israel. If Hamas is based in Israel, like the bandits of Nigeria that is based in Nigeria, Israel will never negotiate with Hamas.
Israel negotiates with Hamas because the hostages they took are not in Israel, while United States negotiated with Taliban in faraway Afghanistan, that is a major difference. If Nigeria does that it would have confirmed Financial Times of London’s recent editorial in which it took a cursory look on ‘kidnapping industry’ in Nigeria and described the country as a failing state.
Sheik Gumi seems to know a lot about the modus operandi of the bandits and he is always quick to volunteer to negotiate between the terrorists and the government. He is also quick to act as go-between as well for families of the kidnapped persons.
It is high time the authorities find out all that he knows. The terrorists need to be tamed and people like Gumi who knows them too well needs to be questioned, especially as banditry has destroyed a significant portion of Nigeria’s economy.
Impact Of Banditry
The impact of armed banditry on Nigeria’s economy is severe, with the Institute of Economics and Peace estimating a loss of 8% of GDP, equivalent to $132.59 billion in 2021. Agricultural activities, a significant part of the economy, suffered a disruption of 26.95%, contributing to widespread poverty. Particularly in the northwest, where farming is predominant, incidents like cattle rustling and violence against farmers worsen poverty and inequality.
Food insecurity is exacerbated as attacks force farmers to abandon their land. Additionally, armed banditry affects education, with schools targeted and hundreds of students abducted, leading to closures and exacerbating the high number of out-of-school children in the region.
These consequences extend beyond security concerns, impacting economic growth and hindering future development. Urgent action is required to address the root causes and restore peace and stability.
For me, it is sacrilegious and unpatriotic for any citizen to openly and brazenly advocate for terrorists as Sheik Gumi seems to have made a career out of. This country is bigger than anyone and no one is above the law. I urge the National Security Adviser to do the needful as this Gumi matter clearly demands!
MAY NIGERIA REBOUND
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