Former president Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 has left a lasting mark on both his personal and professional lives.
Goodluck Jonathan stated this during his speech on Friday in Abuja at the public launch of the book “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” which was written by retired chief of defence staff Lucky Irabor.
“The kidnapping will leave me with a scar when I die. However, more information about Boko Haram may be revealed in the future, he added.
The former president noted that the organisation chose Muhammadu Buhari, who succeeded him in 2015, as their chosen negotiator amid his administration’s attempts to engage Boko Haram in conversation.
“[In] one of the committees we set up then, Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government,” Jonathan said.
“So I was feeling if they nominated Buhari to represent them and discuss 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 (Boko Haram) was still there till today.”
According to Goodluck Jonathan, Buhari’s failure to put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency shows how intricate the group’s operations are.
“If you conduct research and interview many people, you will only get part of the story, but never the full story of Boko Haram,” he said.
Jonathan stated that the government’s efforts might have been successful if the insurgency had solely been about hunger, pointing out that his administration looked into other possibilities.
He claimed that throughout his five years in power, his government made every effort by establishing numerous committees and using a variety of strategies, and he added that the late Buhari must have made every effort as well.
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