TheCable

Femi Fani-Kayode, former minister of aviation, says there should be no dialogue with bandits.

The former minister was reacting to Abubakar Gumi, a prominent cleric who has embarked on a spree of negotiations with bandits in the north.

Gumi, in a recent interview, had asked the federal government to dialogue and give “blank amnesty” to bandits, adding that they are marginalised. 

In another interview, the cleric was quoted as saying non-Muslim soldiers carried out orchestrated killings of bandits.

Reacting in a Facebook post on Thursday, Fani-Kayode said the comments of the cleric are “irresponsible, reckless, dangerous and incendiary and could spark off a chain of events that can cause Nigeria and West Africa to be engulfed in the fire and horror of war for the next 50 years”.

The former minister called on Christians and Muslims to come together and fight terrorism, adding that the comments of Gumi could only lead to further division. 

“It will only lead to further division and as a matter of fact, it is the path to a full scale and full blown ethnic and religious war the likes of which have never been seen. This must NEVER be allowed to happen in our country,” he said. 

“We must, as Christians and Muslims come together and fight the terrorists AS ONE.”