Ex-President Jonathan opens up on lasting pain of Chibok abduction

By Kunle Sanni –

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 as a permanent scar on both his administration and personal life.

Jonathan made the remark on Friday in Abuja during the public presentation of Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a book authored by retired Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor.

“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,” Jonathan said.

The former president recalled that during efforts by his government to open dialogue with the insurgents, Boko Haram nominated Muhammadu Buhari—who later succeeded him in 2015—as their preferred negotiator.

“One of the committees we set up then received a nomination of Buhari by Boko Haram to lead their negotiation with government,” he said.
“I felt that since they trusted Buhari enough to represent them, then once he assumed office, it could have been an avenue for peace. But Boko Haram has persisted till today.”

Jonathan said Buhari’s inability to end the insurgency highlighted the complexity of the group’s operations.

“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 added.