‘Stop funding the army, start negotiating with IPOB’- Gumi

Islamic scholar and security analyst Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has again called on the federal government to stop throwing trillions of naira at the military and instead negotiate with armed groups across the country, including Boko Haram, bandits, and now IPOB.

Speaking in a recent interview, Gumi warned that the military’s “kinetic” approach has never worked and only fuels violence, and added a sharp warning for those in power: “Even IPOB, who wants succession, if they lay down arms and negotiate, I will support them. We can’t keep buying guns while society burns.”

Gumi lamented that government spending on military operations has failed to restore peace, saying the billions of naira pumped into security forces often line the pockets of officers rather than solving the root causes of conflict. “If you give the military money, they will go and buy houses abroad. We need to break the cycle of using guns as a solution,” he said.

Highlighting the failures of the kinetic strategy, Gumi noted that killing Boko Haram leaders or launching raids on bandits has not diminished their strength. On the contrary, he argued, it has made insurgent groups more resilient and violent, worsening insecurity across the North-East, North-West, and South-East regions.

The cleric also criticized broader government priorities, pointing out that trillions of naira spent on military operations could instead be invested in roads, electricity, education, and social infrastructure, which he believes would have a more lasting impact on national security. “Electricity is erratic and very expensive. Roads are terrible. Nothing is working here. Spending that money on defense is just wasting resources,” Gumi said.