Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on the Nigerian government to prioritize dialogue over military operations in addressing the country’s banditry crisis.
Speaking on social media, Gumi emphasized that armed confrontations have repeatedly failed to resolve violent conflicts, citing the ongoing battles with Boko Haram for 16 years and bandits for over a decade.
He highlighted the successful use of negotiation in resolving militancy in the Niger Delta as evidence that dialogue can yield results, warning that cycles of violence are perpetuated by hatred and retaliatory actions on both sides.
Gumi urged authorities and citizens alike to adopt conflict resolution strategies based on negotiation, compromise, and a moral rejection of violence, stressing that repeating forceful measures without dialogue is unlikely to produce lasting peace.
“The ongoing violence will only end when we commit to resolving disputes through discussion, mutual understanding, and ethical restraint rather than retaliation,” he wrote.
