Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has expressed the views that fear of public backlash is preventing political leaders from engaging Boko Haram insurgents and armed bandits in dialogue, similar to the approach adopted in addressing militancy in the Niger Delta. Gumi made the assertion in a Facebook post on Saturday while reflecting on past efforts by former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to negotiate with militants in the Niger Delta. According to him, both leaders visited militant camps in the creeks and initiated programmes that contributed to reducing violence in the oil-rich region. "The former President Jonathan visited delta militants in the creeks, so also the former vice president Osinbajo. They all came up with a program to tame the militants," Gumi wrote. The cleric questioned why a similar strategy had not been explored in tackling insurgency and banditry in parts of northern Nigeria. "Who is going to visit BH and Bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?" he asked. For years, Gumi has advocated dialogue with armed groups operating in the North-West and North-East, arguing that negotiations, alongside rehabilitation, offer a more sustainable path to peace than military action alone. His visits to bandit camps in states including Zamfara have sparked widespread debate. While critics accuse him of legitimising criminal groups responsible for kidnappings, killings and cattle rustling, supporters argue that his engagements have helped facilitate the release of some kidnap victims. The retired military officer has consistently denied supporting terrorism, maintaining that his interventions are aimed solely at ending violence through dialogue and reconciliation. The Niger Delta amnesty programme, introduced in 2009 by the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and sustained under President Jonathan, encouraged thousands of militants to surrender their weapons in exchange for vocational training, stipends and reintegration support. The programme is widely credited with reducing attacks on oil installations and improving security in the region. Jonathan had earlier, as vice president in 2007, visited militant camps in the Niger Delta, where he met former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, in Warri, Delta State. He later said the engagement laid the foundation for the Federal Government's amnesty initiative. Similarly, Osinbajo, while serving as acting president in 2017, visited communities in the Niger Delta to engage militants, traditional rulers and other stakeholders. He defended the outreach, saying those in the creeks were Nigerian citizens with legitimate grievances that required dialogue in addition to security measures.
