Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated former President Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in negotiations with the Federal Government.
Jonathan spoke on Friday in Abuja at the public presentation of “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum“, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor.
According to him, the nomination came during peace efforts initiated by his administration.
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“One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with government,” Jonathan said.
“So, I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and have a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”
Jonathan stressed that the persistence of the insurgency beyond his tenure showed the complexity of the crisis.
“I thought that after I left, within a reasonable time, General Buhari would wipe them out. But even today, Boko Haram is still there. The issue of Boko Haram is far more complex than it is often presented,” he said.
The former president described the 2014 abduction of Chibok schoolgirls as a “permanent scar” on his administration.
“It is a scar I will die with. No plastic or cosmetic surgeon can remove it,” he said.
Jonathan called for fresh strategies beyond conventional approaches, warning that the insurgency was not driven solely by poverty. “If it was only about hunger, the value of the weapons they use shows they are not just hungry people. External hands are also involved,” he said.
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who reviewed the book and wrote its foreword, urged a whole-of-society approach to address the country’s worsening insecurity.
“In 2011, after the UN House attack in Abuja, I went to find out who these people were and what they wanted. I found that they were not really aiming for anything political or religious. In short, they were looking for a better life,” Obasanjo said.
He warned that Boko Haram and banditry should not be treated as separate problems. “Those who have things to say about Boko Haram do not even know when Boko Haram stops and banditry starts. They are all mixed together. We must begin to do something about it, and we must do it collectively,” he said.
The event was attended by Defence Minister Muhammad Badaru, Service Chiefs, lawmakers, royal fathers, diplomats, and other dignitaries.
