I Thought Boko Haram Would End Under Buhari – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said he once believed the Boko Haram insurgency would be resolved during the administration of his successor, former President Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan made the remark on Friday in Abuja during the public presentation of *Scars*, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.

Reflecting on the insurgency that overshadowed much of his presidency, Jonathan said his administration tried several strategies to contain the crisis but with limited success. He recalled that at one point, Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead negotiations with the government, a development that gave him hope the group would lay down its arms once Buhari assumed office. “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government. So I felt that if they had that confidence in him, once he assumed office, it would have been easier to negotiate with them and end the crisis. But Boko Haram is still here today,” he said.

The former president noted that the persistence of the insurgency under Buhari showed the problem was more complex than often portrayed. He explained that Boko Haram, which began in 2009 when he was vice president, could not be easily eradicated through conventional approaches. “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 of Boko Haram is far more complex than it is often presented,” Jonathan said.

Jonathan also described the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls as a permanent scar on his administration. “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,” he said. He added that, in the future, some Boko Haram leaders might document their actions, similar to how figures from the Nigerian Civil War later wrote their accounts, to give clarity on what the group truly wanted.

The former president urged the current administration to consider a carrot-and-stick approach in tackling the insurgency. He commended General Irabor for documenting his experiences, saying such accounts would help future generations better understand the complexities of the conflict.