Former President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once chose the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.
According to him, the insurgents chose Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.
Jonathan made the revelation 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.
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.
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Nigerians to begin asking the right questions concerning the Boko Haram menace plaguing the country
He lamented that Boko Haram insurgency had now become part of the daily lives of Nigerians.
He shared his reservations on Friday at the unveiling of the book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ authored by a former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor, in Abuja.
Obasanjo, who wrote the foreword for the book, said, “Boko Haram is now virtually becoming part of our life. Should we accept that? If we should not accept it, what should we do?
“How much do we know? Even from the other side, and from this side, have we been active enough? Have we been proactive enough?
“I think we have to ask ourselves the necessary questions to be able to deal with this thing that is now becoming a monster within our country.”
He, therefore, called for more critical discussions to proffer solutions to the Boko Haram menace in Nigeria.
Obasanjo, however, said that the former CDS showed courage by sharing his insider experience in the war against terrorism in the book for posterity.
Also, in attendance at the event are former President Goodluck Jonathan, service chiefs, former and serving governors, and clerics
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