‘Bandits Need Hospitals, Schools, Build It For Them’ – Sheikh Gumi Tells FG

Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, has asked the federal government to build hospitals and schools for bandits as a means of improving their livelihood.

Gumi, who said the government was adopting old-fashioned ways to fight the insecurity in the country, urged the government to negotiate with bandits and help them have a future by providing them with necessary amenities.

The renowned cleric claimed that spending large sums of money purchasing weapons to combat insurgency is outdated.

Naija News understands that Gumi stated this during a recent interview on Trust TV, where he emphasized the importance of the government focusing on non-kinetic strategies to address the issue of insecurity.

He stated that banditry is a social problem rooted in the long-standing farmer-herder crisis in the country’s northern region.

Sheikh Gumi suggested that engaging in an honest dialogue with the perpetrators could be instrumental in resolving this menace.

Regarding the recent mistaken military bombardment of Tudun Biri residents in Kaduna State, the former military officer asserted that it is high time for the military to refrain from interfering in internal security challenges. He further emphasized the need for a stronger police force to effectively tackle issues such as banditry.

Gumi said: “This is not the first time such is happening. The military should fight the military. Tank by tank. Jet by jet. The military should be out of fighting insecurity. We are not fighting Cameroon or Togo.

“And the jet fighters should not be used on citizens. I cannot imagine any American president, no matter how instructive, would use F16 to bombard Americans. Impossible. He would go down the next day.

“What we need are very good policies. Then stronger policing. That’s where our money should go. All those people should be involved in community policing.

“In every society, you have very good people and they are the majority. Nigerians are very humble people; very resilient, and can sustain a lot of hardship. So I don’t see why good governance and good policing should be a big deal.

“All the money we spend on buying all these Second World War aeroplanes and artillery and jets to fight insurgency is an archaic way of dealing with this issue. And billions of naira are spent on that.

“Negotiate with these people. Build for their schools and hospitals. Let them have a future. Build for them markets. Even the people we call bandits, what they sometimes complain that they no longer have cattle markets because whenever they establish a market, it gets destroyed.

“So the military should be out of this picture completely. We are not fighting a foreign country. We should develop our internal security.”