Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has questioned who would be willing to engage Boko Haram insurgents and armed bandits in dialogue, arguing that similar efforts had been used in the past to address militancy in the Niger Delta.
Gumi made the comment in a post shared on his Facebook page on Saturday while discussing possible approaches to tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
The cleric referred to the efforts of former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in engaging militants in the Niger Delta as part of attempts to restore peace to the region.
Gumi Recalls Niger Delta Engagement
According to Gumi, Jonathan visited militants in the creeks of the Niger Delta, while Osinbajo also engaged with the groups during his time in government.
He said those engagements eventually contributed to programmes aimed at addressing militancy and bringing peace to the oil-producing region.
Drawing a comparison with the current security challenges in the North, Gumi argued that similar efforts to engage Boko Haram and bandits could attract criticism from some Nigerians.
He wrote, “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. Who is going to visit BH and Bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?”
Naijaonpoint reports that Gumi has, on several occasions, advocated dialogue as part of the efforts to resolve the country’s security challenges.
