Gumi Urges FG to Negotiate with IPOB, Halt Military Funding

In a recent interview, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric, called on the Nigerian government to reconsider its heavy military spending and instead engage in dialogue with armed groups, specifically the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Gumi emphasized that peace cannot be achieved solely through military force and that negotiation remains a practical path to resolving Nigeria's worsening security crisis.

He warned that the military's kinetic approach has only fueled violence and that even IPOB would lay down arms if negotiations were initiated. Gumi criticized the government's allocation of massive security funds, arguing that it has not translated into stability and often fails to address the root causes of violence.

He suggested that redirecting these funds to improve infrastructure and basic services could help tackle conditions that fuel unrest. Gumi lamented the state of public infrastructure in Nigeria, highlighting poor roads and unstable electricity supply as contributing factors to the ongoing insecurity.