What once appeared to be an heroic effort by Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who dared to survive several meetings with bandit commanders in the North, is now a thing of concern especially when Gumi faulted the branding of Bandits as 'criminals'.
Gumi in his past comments during an interview with Arise Television, said while bandits do commit criminal activities, calling them 'criminals' is not a nice way to get their attention, especially when they are expected to surrender.
“Let me show you something, I don’t wish you harm but if you are stopped by armed robbers on the road, you will not use the word criminal on them.
“Tell them good things so that you will save yourself. We are trying to save the nation from these youths that have a false sense of authority. The language we use is very important,” he said.
He said if the media wants them to surrender, they should not be castigated and referred to as criminals but nice words should be used to describe them.
“You’re emphasising on criminality, even the press are criminals too because they are putting oil into fire.
“These people are listening to you, you should not address them as criminals if you want them to succumb,” he said
He added: “Youths are ready to put down their weapons, now you are calling them criminals. How do you want them to cooperate?
“So you have to show them they are Nigerians, that they should not hurt children, be law-abiding. This is the language we want to hear, the press should assist us in getting the boys.
“You see when we talk with them with nice words, they are ready to listen to us, put down their weapons but when the language is about criminality, killing them, then this is what we will keep having.”
However, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, has said while Sheikh Gumi is doing a good thing in helping negotiate with bandits, he however, added that based on past experiences, Gumi's efforts are most likely going to end in futility.
He said his administration already experimented with negotiating with bandits in 2016 and discovered that it was a futile exercise.
Masari described the bandits as “criminally-minded” persons, noting that Sheikh Gumi should be preaching the fear of God to them and not demanding amnesty.
Masari made the comments while speaking with ThisDay.
He said, “Amnesty for who? Look, Gumi is doing it in 2021, we did it in 2016. At least there is something to learn from us.
“When we started the dialogue in 2016, 95 per cent of the herders living in the forest were not criminals but what is the situation today? Majority of the herders living in the forest today are bandits.
“Gumi should have been preaching to them on the fear of God; to understand the implications of killing somebody but certainly not amnesty because even animals are not allowed to be killed unjustly let alone human beings. He should also let the bandits know the value of their own religion.”
Masari said there was nothing unique in the bandits’ demands, noting that they were not promoting any ideology.
He said being unhappy with Nigeria was not an excuse to take up arms against the state.
“Are we all happy in Nigeria? Does it mean those who are unhappy would take arms against other people? They (bandits) kept on saying they are being marginalised, how many people are marginalised and neglected in Nigeria today.
“A thief is a thief and a criminal is a criminal. They are criminally- minded and can’t justify killing innocent souls,” Masari added.