Dare Babalola
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.
Jonathan said this on Friday while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.
According to the former president, the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.
Jonathan said, “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.
“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had 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 noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.
President Jonathan’s government faced criticism for its handling of the Boko Haram insurgency, with some accusing him of politicising the issue.
Despite efforts to combat the group, including a state of emergency declaration in 2013 and amnesty offers, Boko Haram’s violence persisted, resulting in significant human suffering and displacement
