Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna based Islamic cleric has attributed the surge in banditry across Nigeria to what he described as an “existential war” being fought by Fulani herdsmen, urging the government to approach the crisis with a deeper understanding of its roots.
He said the abduction of school children is lesser evil when compared with the killing of soldiers, insisting his remarks were not an endorsement of criminal acts.
Speaking in an interview with BBC on Tuesday, Gumi stressed that his position was based on what he described as moral hierarchy of wrongdoing.
According to him, while both kidnapping and killing are evil acts, they differ in severity.
“Kidnapping children is lesser evil than killing soldiers, definitely it is lesser”, Gumi said.
“Killing is worst than kidnapping, but they are all evil. Not all evils are of the same power”
The cleric also challenged the widely held stance that governments should not negotiate with terrorists, arguing that such a position lacks scriptural backing and is inconsistent with global practice.
“That phrase, ‘we don’t negotiate with terror’, I don’t know where they got it from. It’s not in the Bible. It’s not in the Qur’an. Infact, It’s not even in practice.
“Everybody is negotiating with outlaws, non-state actors. Everybody negotiate peace and strategic interests”, he said.
Gumi stressed that dialogue should be pursued if it can help reduce bloodshed, adding that negotiations are often conducted quietly even by governments that publicly oppose them.
Responding to criticism that his engagement with bandits lends legitimacy to criminal groups, Gumi dismissed such views as simplistic and uninformed.
“Anybody who thinks that way doesn’t understand the intricacies and what we go through”, he said.
“I go there with the authorities. I don’t ago alone. And I go there with the press”
He disclosed that his last engagement with bandits groups occurred on 2021 as part of efforts to facilitate dialogue, noting that while some state authorities were receptive, the federal government was not fully supportive.
Gumi called for stronger military presence in affected areas but maintained that security forces alone cannot resolve the crisis.
“We need a robust army, but even to the military is saying our role in this civil unrest and criminality is mostly kinetic”, he said.
“The rest is the Government, the politics and the locals. The military cannot do everything”
He further described bandits largely as Fulani herdsmen involved in what he termed an essential struggle linked to their livelihoods.
Gumi said most of the armed groups operating in the forests are pastoral Fulani fighting for survival, not their urban counterparts
“They are fighting an existential war. Their life revolves around cattle. Infact they inherited from my grandfather”, he said.
“They are mostly Fulani herdsmen, not the Fulani town. We have to differentiate between the two”.
Gumi urged Nigerians to distinguish between Fulani herders and urban Fulani, warning against painting all with same brush.
-9News Nigeria.
