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By Our Correspondent

In a searing political intervention, the Hausa Activists Network has issued what amounts to a nationalist manifesto disguised as a rejoinder—publicly rallying behind former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s explosive demand that President Bola Tinubu abandon negotiation with bandits and arrest all sympathizers, including controversial cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

This is not a routine press statement. It is a rebellion against a decade of elite silence.

Why This Matters

The Hausa Activists, often vocal on northern marginalization, have flipped their lens. Instead of defending ethnic interests, they are now attacking the very actors they accuse of hiding behind ethnic identity to shield criminals. By praising IBB’s “ruthless” blueprint, the network has drawn a hard line: the banditry crisis is not a “Fulani issue” but a state failure enabled by apologists, clerics, and negotiators.

Key Declarations That Shift the Narrative

1. Bandit sympathizers are complicit in terror. The statement explicitly names Sheikh Gumi as a “negotiator” who has undermined the military, justified kidnappers, and should face the law.
2. Myth of ‘foreign bandits’ destroyed – The activists affirm what security sources have long said: top bandit commanders are Nigerian Fulani, known by name and village. IBB’s position, they argue, ends the convenient lie.
3. Negotiation fuels terror – Echoing IBB, the group rejects ransom payments and forest diplomacy, warning that appeasement breeds more violence.

Political Earthquake for Tinubu

The rejoinder gives President Tinubu rare political cover. A former northern head of state has now publicly sanctioned a hardline security approach, while Hausa civil society voices, often skeptical of Tinubu, demand the same. This isolates Gumi and other intermediaries, stripping them of the “ethnic defense” narrative.

But the analysis must be clear: words alone mean nothing. Tinubu has yet to act. Arrests have not followed. Gumi still moves freely. The military still lacks a unified “no-negotiation” doctrine.

Risks Ahead

While the Hausa Activists’ stance is brave, it also exposes deepening northern fault lines. Backlash from Fulani traditionalists and political elites is certain. Some may frame the statement as betrayal of pastoralist interests. Others will quietly applaud.

Yet the network’s core message is undeniable: Terror has no tribe. Sympathizers have no refuge.

Conclusion – A Reckoning or More Rhetoric?

This rejoinder is a dare. A dare to Tinubu, to the military, and to the judiciary: either you arrest bandit negotiators and their backers, or you admit you never intended to.

The Hausa Activists have done something rare in Nigerian public discourse; they’ve named the enablers and cheered a former dictator’s bluntness. Now the question is whether the state has the spine to follow through.

If Tinubu ignores this moment, the next rejoinder may not be a statement. It may be a revolt.