Bandits Are Going Nowhere – Sheikh Gumi

Outstanding Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has declared that bandits presently troubling the northern a part of Nigeria “are going nowhere”.

Based on Gumi in a put up on his recognized Fb web page on Monday morning titled’ ‘Zamfara: The Flaring Of Disaster’, navy motion in opposition to prison herdsmen and bandits is not going to remedy the safety problem, however “will solely worsen the state of affairs”.

The controversial Islamic preacher was reacting to the latest perceived navy success over bandits at Zamfara forests.

Learn Gumi’s full put up under:

ZAMFARA: THE FLARING OF CRISIS

{… كُلَّمَا أَوْقَدُوا نَارًا لِلْحَرْبِ أَطْفَأَهَا اللَّهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ} [المائدة: 64]

Which means:
“ … Each time they kindle the fireplace of battle, Allah doth extinguish it; however they (ever) attempt to do mischief on earth. And Allah loveth not those that do mischief.”

“Zamfara state is exclusive in lots of features. In early 2000 AD the state ignited a wildfire of states constitutional amendments that accommodated the appliance of sharia regulation past private regulation (i.e. marriages, divorce, and inheritance) to incorporate the Islamic prison regulation. It was effectively acquired by the native populace with eleven different northern states adopting it. Nonetheless, it goes with out saying, that the worldwide group dominated by leaders which can be selling sodomy and lesbianism within the garment of secularism had been on the forefront of preventing it. In a short while, it grew to become political and fizzled away.”

“If such shariah implementation transfer had concentrated in literacy and financial empowerment the type of which we see in Saudi Arabia, with its wealthy sources, Zamfara would have grow to be a shining instance of the mix of a religiously trendy state happy with its growth and modesty. Sadly, it turned out to grew to become the den of criminality and instability within the area.”

“From the blues, in 2009 cattle rustling grew to become rampant. A lot of the cattle rustled had been headed to the south in trailers the place they’re bought and slaughtered. This huge motion of rustled cattle vastly decreased their inhabitants. A lot of the rustling first affected the agricultural herdsmen and it grew to become extra elaborate within the north-western area.”

“Herdsmen had been left with solely one in every of three choices. To affix the rustlers or pay tribute to rustlers for defense or lose their cattle. In 2014, the navy ‘intervention’ within the Birnin-Gwari Forest to combat cattle rustling modified the headsmen right into a resistance motion as many harmless Fulani Ruga settlements had been murdered, males, ladies, and kids in lots of.”

“By 2015, banditry has changed cattle raring that’s changing into almost inconceivable. Medicine had been launched into the herdsmen which can be recognized to be illiterates or semi-illiterates. The response of the city native vigilantes (a pure response to any communal aggression in self-defence) pitched the herdsman in opposition to the native rural helmets, villages, and adjoining cities to the forests as they’re lynched and maimed when every time they enter markets. Subsequently, all people grew to become an enemy and a goal. Fulanis and different tribes, Muslims and non-Muslims had been equally kidnapped for a ransom most of which fits to purchasing weapons.”

“Profiling of Fulani herdsmen grew to become one other motivative issue of extra resistance and extra kidnappings which has now led to their metamorphosis into the monster the nation is dealing with at this time.”

“We must also know that due to their instructional standing and lack of an efficient unified management they’ve confronted untold hardship by the hands of authorities the place they had been extorted and stereotyped. It has been imprinted within the psyche of nomadic pastoralists that the authorities and their city dwellers are ‘evil individuals’ that needs to be resisted as a result of they don’t have any place to safe justice for his or her instances regardless of how harmless they might be.”

“With their acquisition of weapons, they realized how simple it grew to become to be masters of their abode the forest, the place no authority can enterprise into. This has emboldened them to additional assault individuals for extra ransoms to maintain their newfound actuality.”

“Now with the prodding of the federal government to take extra navy actions of an already ugly state of affairs whereby they had been left to amass weapons, an enormous navy funds that’s nearly draining the economic system to a standstill within the buy of fighter aircrafts and conducting navy operations within the area has grow to be to the authorities of their calculations a necessity.”

“Sadly, that is no answer or knowledge. If you don’t have the monopoly of the devices of violence, then dialogue has the monopoly of resolving the battle. That is what the UN is all about. i.e., Roundtable decision of conflicts. What we’re seeing is extra than simply criminals and criminality, sure it could have began as such however like every battle, it’s dynamic.”

“The hazard we face now could be ideological demagogues altering the narrative. They’re making an attempt onerous to infiltrate the herdsmen. And we all know their aims. They wish to destroy all trendy governments by preventing the navy and now within the latest cajoling of native populations, they’ve tormented earlier than to hitch them within the battle.”

“Allow us to face the truth, these herdsmen are going nowhere, and they’re already in battle gear, and we all know our Navy very effectively, so earlier than issues get messy, we’d like chilly brains to deal with this delicate state of affairs. Its frequent sense that if you happen to enable your neighbors to be your enemy you might be already conquered. As a result of they will simply be used in opposition to you by different forces as we see now the herdsmen are finally used to destabilize the area, pauperize and even depopulate it.”

“Navy actions prior to now have worsen the state of affairs stimulating herdsmen resistance. Any extra motion will push them nearer to spiritual fanaticism. It provides them safety from discrediting them as thieves and in addition reinforce their mobilization of gullible younger unemployed youth as we noticed with BH.”

“I’ve met most of the bandit leaders to see a manner out of this gridlock. I’ve talked to the political class and safety brokers. Aside from an exception, most state governors desire a peaceable decision of the battle. The Police and different safety outfits have additionally realized the enormity of the issue. However, sadly, the presidency for what seems to be political gullibility and the navy for budgetary causes as they’re essentially the most beneficiary of conflicts of this nature doesn’t appear to be on the identical web page.”

“This battle might be resolved by energetic engagement of the federal government with the agitators. Simply as we noticed how ENDSAR agitation was swiftly managed after an preliminary scandalous failed navy confrontation, was peacefully resolved by the federal government, likewise, the herdsmen disaster might be.”

“Simply as we had the Niger delta battle resolved with an amnesty which comes with reconciliation, reparation, and rehabilitation packages, so will the herdsmen disaster be resolved. In reality, there’s a want for a Marshal plan to teach the nomadic pastoralist in order that no citizen is left behind.”

“These measures I enumerated are cheaper, simpler, and lasting than the kinetic method which is now going down. No military particularly of a poor economic system can win guerrilla warfare. The latest victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan is a factual warning for people who ponder.”

“Lastly, I pay tribute to my late relative, Personal Sanusi Salisu Gumi, who misplaced his life with 10 different colleagues in an ambush by Bandits in Zamfara forest in November 2019. We discovered about his loss of life when an acquaintance acknowledged his physique within the Gusau mortuary. Rahmatullah Alaihi and all those that died defending us. Amin.”