The Nigerian Islamic cleric,Sheik Ahmad Gumi has suggested that the farmers should allow the terrorists ,also known as herdsmen ,to protect their forests. Gumi claims that Nigeria is fighting a tribal war, calling for amnesty for bandits if they must quit their criminal acts.
Gumi says that, the federal government is supposed to remain neutral with the ongoing tribal war
While admitting that the bandits are committing all sorts of crimes, also said that atrocities have been committed against them by various tribes across Nigeria.
Hear him;
“What you call banditry, when you cross to the other side, you discover Nigeria is fighting a tribal war and government is supposed to be the mediator, it is supposed to be neutral, it’s not supposed to take sides,” Gumi said on Arise TV on Wednesday morning.
“But the moment government takes a side, it becomes part of the conflict. And this is what I saw in Zamfara State, Niger State, and other states.
“This is tribal war going on and the government taking one side”
It should be recalled quickly that the terror group Sheik Gumi was talking about have killed hundreds of innocent Nigerians and displaced thousands.These are the same people he seems to be soliciting a VIP treatment for.The Sheik has also been known to have a weird relationship with these terrorists ,going to the bushes to see them and also holding some meetings with them,which he claims was for negotiations and to find some solutions
This same group have been named as the 4th deadliest terror group in the world according to Global Terrorism Index rating
Gumi is aware of all this but, despite the reality, he continues to insist on his call for amnesty for the bandits, claiming they are ready to surrender if the government will provide means of livelihood for them.
“The Niger Delta example, I think we can take an example from that. When they were vandalizing pipelines, they were given the pipelines to guard.
“Now, the herdsmen are controlling a big chunk of land whereby they are preventing farmers from farming. As the Niger Delta is important to the economy, these herdsmen now are becoming important to the Nigerian economy.
“They can be our guards, they can guard the forests. They have qualities that we can tap from,” Gumi said.
He dismissed the amnesty granted to bandits by Katsina State Governor Bello Masari, describing it as “political amnesty” without any package.
“When you grant a political amnesty, I mean amnesty in the front of the press and the media but in the real sense there was no amnesty.
“Amnesty comes with a package. The package is you rehabilitate these criminals, you provide for them social amenities.
“You entice them to leave the forests by providing them with skills. But there is no any project put forward.”
