Pix; R-L Kassim Omomia, Executive Editor, PSM. Isiaka Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer, PSM drawing the attention of Sheikh Ahmed Gumi to a subject of interest during the interview
Nigeria’s erudite schorlar Dr. Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has accused the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of worsening the Nigeria’s insecurity crisis by tagging herdsmen as terrorists.
During an exclusive interview he granted the duo of Isiaka Mustapha and Kassim Omomia of People’s Security Monitor early last week at his Kaduna private residence, Sheikh Gumi who is also Grand Imam of Sultan Bello Central Mosque in Kaduna insisted that labelling bandits as terrorists would not yield any positive results rather it will complicate our already terrible insecurity crisis.
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PSM: How would you react to the proclamation of the Federal Government labelling bandits as terrorists
SHEIKH GUMI: Personally l don’t think the government’s decision to label herdsmen as terrorists would achieve any desired result. Nothing would change from what is already on the ground. Practically, it’s not going to achieve any results, the terrorism pronouncement is anything that is new. Government had been engaging the bandits in the most brutal manner, even ever before the advent of this government. So tell me what is new. The military have been killing the herdsmen extral judicially before now, and it has not yielded the desired reult. So if the military action could not change the herdsmen before now, is it now that they would change.?
Before now what bandits have been doing was to kidnap people and asked for ransom, and this quite different from what they do now, killing people in their hundreds. And we have tried so much to get the bandits reconcile with the government and figure out a way to end the kidnappings. Just imagine what happened recently in Anka, Zamfara State where 200 innocent villagers were masacred after the proclamation labelling was gazatted. This real terrorism!
PSM; Sheikh what would you say could have triggered kidnappings of people by bandits in the first instance?
SHEIKH GUMI: I think the failure of the government to probe into what could have led to the agitations of the bandits is a major blunder. We should all know that for every action of bandits or terrorists there must be underlying factors. Why are they aggrieved? what exactly are they agitating for? what exactly do they want? These are the fundamental questions. And the government has no choice other than to listen to them. Except this is done, no peace can be achieved. Let me say that it becomes more dangerous when our local bandits begin to form alliance and relationship with other notorious terrorists groups such as ISWAPS and the rest.
PSM: Do you see any peaceful resolution in sight?
SHEIKH GUMI: Yes. And that is if the government is ready. Honestly the bandits have signified their intention to lay down their arms if the government is also willing to engage them in dialogue. Recently one of the leaders of the bandits called Turji, whom l have sat with severally sent out a letter to the government asking for dialogue. It was an open letter calling on the Emirs, Clergymen and the people in government for peaceful resolution. And to further demonstrate his willingness he released all the captives in his detention, but rather than taking him seriously the people in government were saying his action was compelled by military pressure. What they don’t know is that the military action in any form hardens them the more, and they become more brutal.
That is just the reality, the more you put military pressure on them the more horrible they become. l just don’t know why the government is shying away from engaging the bandits in a peaceful dialogue, but I think of two major reasons are responsible for government’s lukewarm attitude.
Firstly, the government has this notion of thinking that stooping low to talk or negotiate with the bandits would be perceived by the general public as a sign of weakness, and the people in government don’t want that to happen. We have seen such attitude from the government before, and that was the during the ENDSARS protests when President Buhari had to be practically begged to address the nation. And what did he say? He was telling Nigerians not to see his address as a sign of weakness on the part of his government.
I just don’t want to believe it should be an egocentric affair, because people are being killed on a daily basis without justification. Under normal circumstances, an ideal government should be terribly concerned, and start looking for ways to resolve the crisis; not by grandstanding. l can tell you that this hard posture of the government would not yield any fruitful result.
The second reason has to do with the multi billion naira defence budget, it’s in billions, and don’t forget it is unaccounted for. So, there are lots of people feasting fat on the mega budget. Anybody that is benefiting from the chain of the budget would not want peace; and that is the bitter truth. All these fraud we know, because we are intellectuals too, forget the turban on my head.
All these beneficiaries of the fat defence budget are not in any way affected by the crisis, because they are mostly provided with security and escorts, they don’t ply our roads; they fly, and when they do ply the roads they are provided with more than enough security, so they don’t feel the heat.
Anybody that is on the chain of the budget would not want peace all these things we know we are intellectuals too, not because we wear turban, and more so all these beneficiaries of the defence budget are not affected to provide the with escorts and security guards, and they fly too, s they don’t felt the heat.
PSM; Insinuations in some quarters are that the bandits are mostly from neighbouring countries surrounding Nigeria and that they are not Nigerian Fulanis. Do you believe this?
SHEIKH GUMI: Far from it the herdsmen are our brothers the are aggrieved Nigerians. l think this thought must have been informed because of the horrible state of our borders, to a large extent Nigerian borders are highly porous, and people move in and out unhindered and unquestioned. One other terrible thing now that is perhaps not known to Nigerians is that the bandits have now started relocating to neighboring countries, and they are putting up a sanctuary there, they can stay back there as long as they want, and this of course provides them the ample opportunity to plan whatever they want to do.
They come into the country unleash mayhem and go back to their base unchallenged. The implication of this is that they are ready for a sustained battle. Same method was applied by Talibans when they moved to Northern Pakistan and formed a sanctuary there because they knew that America lacked jurisdiction to cross the border.
PSM; Is there any hope for negotiation in the nearest future?
SHEIKH GUMI: Yes hope is not lost. My only problem is the Aso Rock. It’s an irony, Buhari is ruling Nigeria by the constitution in fact the Fulanis are not exempted, everybody is suffering and they complained that they have never had it so bad like all Nigerians are suffering. What Buhari is doing is ruling Nigeria by the constitution and he has said it, meaning he is ruling Nigeria by the book, treating people with most neglect. Politics is about the ability to pragmatically handle people, engage people as event unfolds without necessarily recourse to the dictates of the constitution.
So everybody is suffering, because Buhari would not yield ground to solve problems as they come, he would rather stay with the book. Obviously, the Buhari government has caused so much damage look at what happened in Zamfara state recently, where 200 people were killed for nothing. We risked our lives going into the bush to talk to these bandits, in fact we have covered almost 80 percent of them.
l have since realized that the first people interested in herdsmen are Boko Haram. The Boko Haram people don’t want us to go in there and show them another face of islam. lf you go on social media you would to see how shekau has been abusing me, all because he wants to sustain relationship with bandits to continue to wreck havoc. As you already know that the House of islam is divided, now we have Terika, Isallah and the rest of them.
In the Christians world the struggle is subtle hardly you find protestants coming to criticize the Pope or Catholic coming out to criticize the Anglicans. The theological argument among the Christians is subtle. And this explains reasons for rapid civilization especially in the area of education; but for Muslims it is hard and fierce. The Tijanniya people are also criticizing me, they came out and said l was going to see bandits to campaign for sectarianism, and l had to start explaining to them that all my efforts are to stop bandits from kidnapping people and also educate them.
Then the other group accused me of doing it for political gains and ambition that l was working for a political party. Some governors told me that people suspect that i’m a PDP sympathizer because of Atiku.
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK