The kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, according to former president Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, left a lasting mark on his administration.
The former president expressed optimism that some of the insurgent organisations’ commanders will eventually record their activities, much like important participants in the Nigerian Civil War did.
Jonathan gave a speech at the public launch of the book Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, written by Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), a former chief of defence staff.
He said, “One of the major scars on my government—and it will remain on my face, as Bishop Kukah said, no plastic or cosmetic surgeon can remove it—is the issue of the Chibok girls.
“It is a scar I will die with. But perhaps later, more details may become known, and that too has to do with Boko Haram.
“What did they really want? Our chairman once raised the issue when he interviewed some of them, and they gave him certain perspectives. But I pray that one day, some of the Boko Haram leaders may be literate enough to document what they have done, so that people will truly understand what they wanted. It is similar to the story of the Nigerian Civil War.”
He claims that during one of these sessions, the militants nominated late Buhari as their favoured negotiator. Based on this, he believed that it would have been simple for Buhari to negotiate the terrorists’ surrender when he became president, yet the insurgency has continued.
According to Jonathan, Buhari’s failure to eliminate Boko Haram militants demonstrated that the situation was more complicated than is frequently depicted.
Boko Haram Did Not Nominate Buhari As Mediator – Garba Shehu
Following Goodluck Jonathan’s statement, former presidential spokesman Garba Shehu stated yesterday that, contrary to what former President Jonathan claimed, Boko Haram did not designate the late former President Muhammadu Buhari as their mediator.
In a statement, Shehu said, “We are compelled to make a response to a terrible statement made on the late president Muhammadu Buhari by his predecessor in office, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to the effect that Boko Haram had nominated him to represent them in a dialogue with the government.
“If this is a campaign statement towards his bid for the presidency in 2027, we want to say to him that “Mr Jonathan, you are making a false start.”
“Contrary to the news making the rounds in those years that the radical Islamist extremist –Boko Haram had nominated General Muhammadu Buhari as the mediator between them and the Federal Government of Nigeria in the proposed peace talks, the retired Military General denied knowledge of his nomination.”
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