The Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has claimed that the current military offensive against criminal herdsmen and bandits terrorising North-western will not solve the security challenges facing the country.
Mr Gumi made the declaration on Monday via his verified Facebook page, while reacting to the recent perceived military success over bandits at Zamfara forests.
The statement, titled: ‘Zamfara: The Flaring of Crisis’, stressed that the military action against the criminals “is no solution or wisdom”.
He added that, “when you don’t have the monopoly of the instruments of violence, then dialogue has the monopoly of resolving the conflict”.
The statement said: “Now with the prodding of the government to take more military actions of an already ugly situation whereby they were left to amass weapons, a huge military budget that is almost draining the economy to a standstill in the purchase of fighter aircrafts and conducting military operations in the region has become to the authorities in their calculations a necessity.”
“Unfortunately, this is no solution or wisdom. When you don’t have the monopoly of the instruments of violence, then dialogue has the monopoly of resolving the conflict.
“This is what the UN is all about. i.e., Roundtable resolution of conflicts. What we are seeing is more than just criminals and criminality, yes it may have started as such but like any conflict, it is dynamic.”