Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi said on Monday that the current military onslaught on bandits in Zamfara and other parts of the North-West will lead to “religious fanaticism”.
Rather, the Cleric in a statement on his Facebook wall, titled, ‘Zamfara: The Flaring crisis,’ noted that the Federal Government should handle the matter just the way it did to the EndSAR protest or the Niger Delta militants way.
Gumi wrote, “The danger we face now is ideological demagogues changing the narrative. They are trying hard to infiltrate the herdsmen. And we know their objectives. They want to destroy all modern governments by fighting the military and now in the recent cajoling of local populations, they have been tormented before to join them in the struggle.
“Let us face the reality, these herdsmen are going nowhere, and they are already in battle gear, and we know our military very well, so before things get messy, we need cold brains to handle this delicate situation. It’s common sense that if you allow your neighbours to be your enemy you are already conquered. Because they can easily be used against you by other forces as we see now the herdsmen are ultimately used to destabilise the region, pauperize and even depopulate it.
“Military actions in the past have worsened the situation stimulating herdsmen resistance. Any more action will push them closer to religious fanaticism. It gives them protection from discrediting them as thieves and also reinforce their mobilization of gullible young unemployed youth as we saw with Boko Haram.
“This conflict can be resolved by active engagement of the government with the agitators. Just as we saw how ENDSAR agitation was swiftly managed after an initial scandalous failed military confrontation, was peacefully resolved by the government, likewise, the herdsmen crisis can be.
“Just as we had the Niger delta conflict resolved with an amnesty which comes with reconciliation, reparation, and rehabilitation packages, so will the herdsmen crisis be resolved. In fact, there is a need for a Marshal plan to educate the nomadic pastoralist so that no citizen is left behind.