Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has defended the idea of engaging Boko Haram insurgents and armed bandits in dialogue, drawing parallels with past peace initiatives used to address militancy in the Niger Delta.
Gumi made the remarks in a Facebook post on Saturday while discussing possible solutions to Nigeria’s persistent security challenges.
The cleric recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had both engaged Niger Delta militants as part of efforts to restore peace in the oil-producing region.
According to him, those engagements eventually led to programmes that helped reduce militancy and stabilise the region.
Comparing the Niger Delta experience with the current insecurity in northern Nigeria, Gumi questioned why similar dialogue with Boko Haram insurgents and armed bandits would attract widespread criticism.
“The former President Jonathan visited Delta militants in the creeks, so also the former Vice President Osinbajo. They all came up with a programme to tame the militants. Who is going to visit BH and bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?” he wrote.
Gumi has consistently advocated dialogue as part of efforts to end the insurgency and banditry affecting several parts of northern Nigeria, maintaining that negotiations should complement military operations in addressing the country’s security crisis.