Various military operations in Zamfara and other states against bandits have pitted the federal government against critics and Sheik Ahmad Gumi.
Before the military operations, several other efforts by both the federal government and the state had yielded little results.
Many critics of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration have raised concern over the mediation efforts by Sheik Gumi, saying it is an attempt to shield the bandits from being punished.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that the spate of killings and kidnapping of school children in Niger, Kaduna and Zamfara states, leading to the death of some of them, forced the federal government to embark on military operations in Zamfara.
While many Nigerians are applauding the feat achieved by the military in dislodging bandits from their camps in Zamfara and killing many of them, Gumi opposed the action, saying it is counterproductive. He argued that military might had never been a solution to similar challenges the world over.
He added that government should have opted for dialogue in finding a lasting solution to the lingering problem.
The Islamic cleric condemned the ongoing military offensive, saying, “These herdsmen are going nowhere; they are already in battle gear. And we know our military very well. So before things get messy, we need cold brains to handle this delicate situation.
“Military actions in the past had worsened the situation, stimulating herdsmen’s resistance. Anymore action will push them closer to religious fanaticism.
“It gives them protection from discrediting them as thieves, reinforcing their mobilisation of gullible, young unemployed youth as we saw with Boko Haram,” he said.
However, the stance of Sheik Gumi drew the ire of the presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, who in an indirect reference to the critics of the military operations, described them as lovers of bandits.
He said only people who didn’t want to be objective were against the federal government’s military offensive against the bandits.
He said, “A bandit lover is on record as saying that military offensive would not work, and that the bandits “are going nowhere.” True? False! They are going somewhere. And that is hell.”
He said that before the military operations, the bandits had the chance to turn a new leaf when Zamfara, Katsina and many other states offered to dialogue.
“Governments tried to negotiate with them but they were contumacious. Like dogs fated for destruction, they refused to hear the hunters’ whistle. They filled the land with sorrow, tears and blood, ‘dem regular trademark’ (as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would say). Now, the shoe is on the other foot,” he added.
However, in a swift response to Adesina’s exposé, the Islamic cleric said, “I am my country’s lover, my region’s lover, my state’s lover and my people’s and humanity lover.
“I am a qualified medical doctor who knows what it takes to precisely excise a brain tumour without destroying the delicate surrounding tissues. I was a commissioned military officer who knows what the military is for and the capability of our military. I am an intellectual with a PhD from abroad.
“I am an Islamic scholar who knows the immorality of killing innocent lives. So, silence for me in this ocean of oblivion is not an option,” he said.
Gumi further derided people with extreme cynicism against his views, saying they don’t understand the enormity of the situation.
“As for those cynics that have no value to add in the dilemma except vituperation, and abuses, we know that is the substance they are made of. No qualms whatsoever!” he added.
The Islamic cleric said the long term solution to the menace of banditry, kidnapping and other crimes being committed by bad elements among the Fulani herdsmen was a multifaceted approach, which should be adopted by both states and the federal government.
“The solution will be found in good intelligence, proficient policing, engagement of local herdsmen in policing, rehabilitation, reconciliation and reparation of all victims of banditry.
“A good and honest judiciary that protects people’s rights, money and time will surely kill the disease and heal the country of this delinquency, crimes and bad governance,” he added.
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