Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said the peace deal initiated by the renowned, Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi is waste of time.
He also said lack of unity among the governors to deal with banditry, kidnapping and other related crimes are reasons why the crime could not be control.
El-rufai, who was speaking with the BBC Hausa service on Monday, noted that he did not believe in negotiating with the bandits.
According to him, these were people who before now sold a cow and pocketed N100,000 but now they collect millions of naira as ransom for kidnapping a single person. He wondered how they would go back to their normal life and agree to a peace deal.
He stressed that what was needed now is a strong coordinated fight to end their criminal activities not negotiations.
“A Fulani herdsman that was used to only getting a hundred thousand naira in a year, after selling a cow, but now obtains millions of naira from ransom for kidnapping will ever stop.”
“Sheikh Gumi is my friend. What we discussed about the herdsmen was different from what he is doing now,” said El-rufai.
“And I believe anyone that tells me the approach is realistic, I will not subscribe to it. He is only deceiving himself and wasting his time; they will not stop.”
The governor argued that the criminal herdsmen that kill hundreds of people, burn people’s houses and properties don’t deserve any compensation.
“I want a situation where security will launch a coordinated war against them by going into the forests and bomb their hideouts once and for all. If not, any short of that will not end the current security situation,” he said.
