In a stark and contentious assessment of Nigeria's long-running security crisis, prominent Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has declared the nation's military incapable of defeating bandit groups through force, insisting that negotiations offer the only viable path to peace.
The cleric's remarks, made in an exclusive BBC interview, challenge the core premise of President Bola Tinubu's administration, which is pursuing a strategy of sweeping military reforms and a national security emergency aimed at crushing violent non-state actors.
The Core Argument: A War Unwinnable by Bullets Alone
Gumi framed the conflict in the northwest and beyond as a classic asymmetric struggle where a conventional military holds a disadvantage. "Where have you ever seen the military defeat guerrilla fighters? Nowhere," he stated. He cited the military's own doctrine, suggesting that kinetic (military) action constitutes only 25% of the solution, with the remainder dependent on government policy, politics, and local communities.
According to Gumi, the armed groups are largely composed of "Fulani herdsmen" engaged in what he describes as an "existential war." He argues the crisis stems from threats to their traditional pastoral livelihoods, evolving from local disputes into widespread criminality as communities felt besieged and resorted to violence.
Defending Engagement and Rejecting "Terrorist" Label
The cleric has long been a lightning rod for criticism due to his past, well-publicized meetings with bandit leaders. He used the interview to clarify his position, stating he has had "no contact with them since 2021," the year the federal government formally designated the groups as terrorists.
"I never went there alone," Gumi said, explaining his 2021 efforts were an attempt to "bring them together" for dialogue, an initiative he claims the government at the time rejected.
Pushing back against the doctrine of non-negotiation with terrorists, Gumi argued that engaging with armed outlaws is standard international practice. "When they say we don’t negotiate with terrorists, I don’t know where they got that from," he remarked, pointing to the United States' negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar as a prime example. "Everyone negotiates with outlaws if it will stop bloodshed."
A Divisive Figure in a National Crisis
Sheikh Gumi's advocacy remains deeply polarizing. Supporters view him as a pragmatic voice offering a necessary, non-military solution to an intractable conflict, someone who understands the socio-economic roots of banditry.
His critics, however, argue that his rhetoric legitimizes criminality, undermines the state's monopoly on violence, and emboldens the very groups terrorizing the population. Past comments, such as his claim that kidnapping schoolchildren is a "lesser evil" than killing soldiers, have fueled public outrage and accusations of sympathy for the aggressors.
His latest intervention ensures the debate over Nigeria's security strategy will remain heated. As the government doubles down on military action, Gumi's voice represents a powerful counter-narrative—one that questions the efficacy of force and insists that the keys to peace lie in dialogue, addressing grievances, and political resolution, not solely in the barrel of a gun.
*Source: Sahara Reporters.*
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