Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator in discussions with the Nigerian government.
Jonathan made this disclosure on Friday, during the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.
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Jonathan explained that the insurgents selected Buhari because his administration had established several committees to explore dialogue with the group.
“One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government,” he said.
He added, “I thought if Boko Haram had Buhari as their negotiator, it might have been easier to negotiate and disarm them, but the crisis persists to this day.”
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On the complexity of the insurgency, Jonathan stressed: “The Boko Haram crisis is not just about guns; it is about ideology, poverty, and governance failures.
Simply removing leaders will not end the problem.” He further noted, “Even when dialogue was possible, there were structural and institutional gaps that made negotiation extremely difficult.”
Jonathan also reflected on the lessons for future administrations, stating: “What we learnt is that security challenges need patience, strategy, and inclusive approaches. Quick fixes never work in situations like this.”
He urged current and future leaders to consider both military and non-military strategies to tackle insurgency effectively.
