I go with police, govt officials to negotiate with bandits – Sheikh Gumi reveals

Popular Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi, while speaking with Sunday PUNCH, addresses issues of banditry and terrorism.

The rate at which bandits and terrorists kill and kidnap Nigerians is on the increase, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria. In an attempt to combat this, the federal government has spent billions of naira to ensure that Nigerians are safe, but this issue continues to ravage the northern region. What do you say to this?

No matter how many expensive drugs you give to patients, if they are not the right drugs, they will not get cured. In fact, the drug needed may be very cheap, but you may be giving an expensive drug that is ineffective for the ailment. In this case, there is a need to diagnose what the problem is, especially among the youth. We must understand that these individuals are all young, whether they are Boko Haram or bandits; you will never see an old man among them. There is a social reason associated with all these disturbances, and there is also a lack of respect for leadership. The federal government must look at the root cause of this problem and start to apply the right formula to solve it. Spending trillions on ammunition and militarisation when the problem is social will yield no results. This will only compound the issue, leading people to become radicalised and turn to militancy.

Recently, you said the federal government should not have radicalised bandits and Boko Haram. Why did you say so?

Well, it is not the government that started it. A long time ago, when the conflict was a social or ethnic problem, they used the military to quell or suppress it. It is not suppressible.

When a society is neglected until it becomes harmful, like the military, the next line of action is dialogue—to sit down with them, especially when they express a desire for dialogue.

For instance, I have been there, I have seen them, I have talked to them, and they said they want dialogue. Why does the federal government emphasise the kinetic approach when the people say they want dialogue? If they do not want dialogue, that is a different issue. Then the government should come out with the armament.

Another thing is that our military is doing very well. It is overstretched from Maiduguri to Sokoto, from Sokoto to Lagos, and from Lagos to all parts of the country.

It is not just about the military; it can be the police. What we have to do is downsise the military, expand the police force, and empower them. It is really useless when we spend our money on modern gadgets, intelligence gathering, and all that; we are going astray.

The military is a fire engine. It is a fire-for-fire approach. These people they are fighting are guerrillas.

Using the military to fight a guerrilla war is like punishing the military. We have seen that in Afghanistan; now Israelis are fighting guerrillas in Gaza and are facing serious consequences for doing that.

The military is not designed to fight guerrillas. It is just like using a hammer to kill flies. One will destroy the house. The design of the military is not for this job. We have to empower the police, enhance intelligence gathering, and, more importantly, empower the people themselves. The trillions the government has spent on social welfare and amenities do not even need to be agitated for. This is all agitation. When people don’t see justice, they take justice into their own hands.

Many Nigerians want to know how you find bandits and talk to them, and why the federal government can’t use you as bait to apprehend them?

People should not talk like that. This is unintelligent. For instance, if you are in Lagos or Ogun State and you have access to see people, do you ask how you have access to them? These people are Nigerians; we can trace them through their relatives and all that easily.

When one approaches them as a negotiator or a preacher, they open their hearts. So, they can be approached and convinced. The question is: Why is the government not taking that course? Well, I can say the present government has learned from the legacy of the past.

The only thing I think is lacking here is that the talking is too much. If you stand on the right side, then we will get results.

So far, you’ve said there’s a need for the federal government to empower and educate them. Meanwhile, do you agree that the motive of these terrorists is towards the Islamisation of Nigeria?

Before the Fulani herdsmen became bandits, they were fighting an ethnic war. They respect the government as an authority and have said that the problem is vigilante groups. The vigilantes started killing and massacring them; they had no peace, and that was their grievance. If there can be one vigilante group and a state police or local government police, some of them should be incorporated to have a balance. Nobody is saying anything about that, and everyone is doing their own business. Now we are all suffering.

Why have you taken the matter of speaking to these terrorist elements seriously?

I am in the eye of the storm, and I am a full-fledged Nigerian. I also have an interest in peace and tranquillity. I cannot wait for the official narrative because I have been in the army and I know how things go.

Today, 90 per cent of our intelligence is garbage. What we have left is just about 10 per cent. That is why we have coups because intelligence does not have a way to identify these people.

They also killed their leaders because no intelligence picked them up. Can we wait until we get a government that understands, then, we can make plans to intervene and see if it can calm nerves to achieve peace. No, as individuals, we have to do our best. Then I can advise the government on what we have seen.

One thing Nigerians should understand is that I have never been to any den of these people without officials of the government. I go with the police because one cannot go alone; you must go with them.

Only that they will tell you there is a perimeter—don’t come with some of them. Sometimes, I also go with traditional institutions and state government officials. My plan is only to broker peace with them. They open their doors for us to sit and discuss issues.

Do you think they are ready to sheath their swords?

At the moment, they have started shouting “Allahu Akbar,” and that is what we are fearing. Now they are committing the same crimes of killing, raping, and slaughtering.

When we went there, they were not shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Now, they are aggrieved, and they think it is a revengeful fight. They must have been engaged by religious fanatics. This is what we feared.

It has been alleged that these terrorists are being sponsored by some politicians to wreak havoc in the country, especially those in the northern region. What is your take on this?

No politician is sponsoring these people. We are all victims. The opposition is not even behind this. This is a natural reaction of people neglected for centuries.

Now they are exposed to the world and they want education. These people are exposed to the internet and see how much they are deprived.

They want to fight back. This act is not orchestrated by anybody. To our surprise, in a school built for Fulani herdsmen in a village between Abuja and Kaduna, over 600 of them, along with their families, have started schooling there. They are telling us they don’t want their children to be like them. Imagine if we did that all around the country.