By Ayomide Otitoju
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated former President Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in peace talks with the federal government during his administration’s efforts to pursue dialogue as an alternative to military action.
Jonathan made the revelation 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, General Lucky Irabor.
“One of the major scars on my government is the scar of the Chibok girls. It is a scar that will die with me,” Jonathan said. “I pray that one day, perhaps the leaders of this group will be literate enough to write a book or tell Nigerians what Boko Haram was really about.”
He explained that his administration had set up several committees to explore peace options, during which the insurgents nominated Buhari to lead their negotiation team. Jonathan said he had expected Buhari’s eventual emergence as president to ease dialogue and lead to the insurgents’ surrender, but the crisis persisted.
“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 is far more complex than it is often presented,” he stated.
Drawing from his experience under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Jonathan cited the amnesty deal that ended militancy in the Niger Delta, noting that Boko Haram had defied similar strategies. He urged the current administration to adopt a “carrot and stick” approach.
The former president also questioned the source of the insurgents’ weaponry. “Where are these guns and sophisticated weapons coming from? You begin to see that external hands are also involved,” he said.
Representing President Bola Tinubu at the event, Minister of Defence Mohammed Abubakar Badaru commended Irabor’s book as both a historical record and a guide for ongoing and future counter-insurgency efforts.
Dignitaries in attendance included the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, who reviewed the book; Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa; former National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno; retired General Alexander Ogomudia; retired Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba; and Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu.
