The National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, has blamed the Nigerian military’s inability to defeat Boko Haram, ISWAP, and bandits ravaging the North on “misapplication or underutilisation” of resources.

He also disclosed that popular Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi, who “can talk and deal with bandits,” would help the government tackle insecurity.

Regarding the Nigerian military’s inability to defeat insurgents and bandits, Mr. Monguno revealed, “We have the resources. It’s just misapplication or underutilisation that has affected our ability to deal with these people.”

The NSA admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari had previously used mercenaries in fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the North-East.

“When this administration came in, it’s true we had these mercenaries helping out in the North-East. But the directive of the commander-in-chief is that we do not engage mercenaries when we have our own people to deal with this problem.

“This is basically a presidential directive. And there are so many issues when you come to the issue of mercenaries. It has to do with the issue of national pride also. I know you’d say can pride be more of a concern than our security? I do understand that,” he explained.

While fielding questions at a State House briefing on Thursday, according to The Cable, Mr. Monguno said, “Sheik Gumi is doing what he’s doing because he believes in what he’s doing. He’s a Nigerian, and under the constitution, he can talk to anybody. He can deal with anybody.”

In the past few weeks, Mr. Gumi has been in the news for negotiating with bandits in the North-West. He had also stated that bandits should not be addressed as criminals if Nigerians want them to surrender their arms.

Stating that the government is awaiting help from the Islamic scholar, he said service chiefs had met with him, “and we spoke generally during the meeting, and he resolved to help the government.”

He added, “We are waiting for him. That’s all I can say.

“While the government is not averse to talking with these entities, it also has to fully apply its weight. You can’t negotiate with people who are unreliable and who will continue to hurt society.

“We will apply the full weight of the government to deal with these criminals.”