How To Break Boko Haram – Gen Gumi

A general of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Barr AbdulQadir Abubakar Gumi (rtd), has suggested the direct debating engagement with Boko Haram on its ideology, beliefs and faith-based dogma as a means to ending the sect’s bloodshed in the country.

Gumi, who, until his recent controversial retirement, was the Army’s director of legal services, made this submission in an insightful paper made available to LEADERSHIP, yesterday.

He narrated the story of a certain senior university lecturer (name withheld) who was abducted by Boko Haram and later released after he engaged the sect on its warped and misguided interpretations of Islamic sources.

Gumi sees a proper Islamic engagement of the group’s doctrine through dialogue as the only way out.

According to him, it is important to continue to put pressure on the federal government to value the use of the likes of the university lecturer to academically engage the sect on their ideology and dogma for the common good.

“Conducive atmosphere or environment is required for the desired engagement as well as security cover for all participants to positively complement efforts made so far in the counter-insurgency operations.

‘Such a dialogue will automatically also suspend life and faith in their command structure, fighting spirit, morale and also save fresh recruitments of the vulnerable youths.

AbdulQadir, son of the famous late Islamic cleric and grand khadi of the northern region, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, and brother of Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mahmud Gumi, lamented the inability of the armed forces to translate on home soil the expertise they had garnered in international peacekeeping campaigns in foreign countries.

‘If our armed forces can offer mediation services under rules of minimum and limited force to foreign countries, why can’t it bring home such expertise between the larger conformist Nigerian Muslim community ahead of a war that has proved less effective?” he wondered

The general called on Muslims to take serious exception when asked to step aside by secular structures in the fight against terrorist activities carried out in the name of Islam.

“Such stepping aside only marginalises the true teachings and sound character of a Muslim to oblivion. Islamic principles insist that converts and Muslims generally should be humble enough to respect the pattern of conveyance, practices and interpretations derived from earliest, inherited and established sources.

“Indications abound that innovative interpretations could also have been introduced by sinister sources outside the Islamic fold to have helped the Boko Haram firm up their compulsive propagation methods.

“Considering the age brackets of the youths involved, it could be revealing to also explore the uses, availability and sources of illicit drugs and intoxicants in and around the infested areas along with the sources of arms and ammunition supply to the sect.”

 

Source: Leadership