The Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU) has urged President Bola Tinubu to disregard former Zamfara State Governor, Ahmad Yerima’s advice of negotiating with bandits.
Information Nigeria had reported that the former Zamfara West Senator, after a meeting with Tinubu called for dialogue with bandits, as according to him, poverty and ignorance were the drivers of armed banditry.
He however suggested rehabilitation programmes as part of the ways the government can integrate the bandits into society.
However, Ishaq Kasai, BEPU chairman, in a statement on Tuesday, maintained that those advocating for dialogue lack the understanding of the structural formation and divergent goals of the armed bandits.
The chairman noted that negotiating with bandits will not yield positive outcomes, since the armed groups view negotiations as a sign of weakness on the side of the government.
“To successfully bring an end to armed banditry business in Nigeria, all bandits’ camps in our various forests must be dislodged as anything short of this will not address or bring a lasting solution to the problem.
“Engaging in negotiations with armed bandits will never yield significant positive outcomes because past experiences have demonstrated that criminal elements such as armed bandits, often exploit negotiations as a means to buy time, regroup, and strengthen their positions.
“They view negotiations as a sign of weakness of government, which emboldens them to continue their violent activities,” he said.
Kasai furthered that dialogues with bandits in the past in some North-West States did not yield any positive results.
“In fact, all the communities and governments that entered into such negotiations with the bandits later regretted it.
“Therefore, we want to draw the attention of Mr President to the fact that going for such negotiation will bring setback and distraction in his administration’s determination to bring lasting solutions to the security situation bedevilling Nigeria.
“Negotiating with the bandits will also send a dangerous message to Nigerians, particularly rural dwellers, signalling the government’s incapacity, weakness, and official acknowledgement of parallel governments within the Nigerian State,” the statement added.
