In a news article that was published by the Daily Trust paper online this morning, it was reported that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who happens to be an Islamic scholar, and a medical doctor who retired as captain in the Nigerian Army, during an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, has revealed what bandits told him in a discussion they had.
During the interview, Gumi was told that, it is believed that bandits and herders now make more money from kidnapping than rearing cattle, which take a long time to grow. He was told that for example, bandits can make up to N100 million from abducting just one person, but they can spend 5 years to nurture a bull, only to sell it at N350,000, as he was asked if he thinks that they would accept dialogue with the government like he suggested.
While he was talking, Gumi said they will accept dialogue because, they were the ones initiated it.
He said, “Bandits told us that they are tired because they are living in bush with the money they are making. So they are not enjoying the money. They make mattress with it to buy weapons and they have not really changed. The only thing is that we need to wean them off because a lot of them are on drugs. That is another challenge.”
Gumi said they were tired and they want to be accepted by th people, they want to go to the market and villages and in fact, one of them said that, he would like to go for Hajj if there is peace between them and the people.
He said, “Part of the programme is that, we cannot allow all of them to be herdsmen and some of them have to leave livestock rearing. They can go to school and become medical doctors, engineers, army officers. So, all of them are not going back to livestock farming but, most of them especially the older ones among them should be supported in that sense.”
