Gumi Questions Who Will Engage Boko Haram And Bandits

Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has reopened his argument for dialogue with armed groups, asking who would engage Boko Haram and bandits the way past leaders engaged Niger Delta militants.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Gumi referred to former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, saying both had met militants in the creeks before peace programmes were developed for the Niger Delta.

Punch and Daily Trust quoted him as writing: “The former President Jonathan visited delta militants in the creeks, so also the former vice president Osinbajo. They all came up with a program to tame the militants.”

He then asked who would visit Boko Haram and bandits to try to stop their violence without being attacked publicly. Daily Trust reported that his post renewed debate over whether dialogue should be part of Nigeria’s response to insecurity in the North.

Gumi has long argued that negotiation should accompany security operations. Critics of that position have warned that engagement with armed groups can reward violence or weaken accountability for attacks on communities.

Sources: Punch, Daily Trust