Former President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once selected Muhammadu Buhari, who later became president, as their preferred negotiator in peace talks with the Federal Government.
Jonathan made this known on Friday in Abuja at the public presentation of Scars, a book written by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.).
He explained that during his tenure, several committees were set up to engage with the insurgent group, and in one of such efforts, the militants named Buhari to represent them.
According to Jonathan, the move led him to believe that Buhari, after assuming office in 2015, would find it easier to persuade the insurgents to lay down their arms. However, the group continued its violent campaign despite changes in government.
The former president, who battled Boko Haram throughout his time in office, noted that the persistence of the crisis showed that the insurgency was more complicated than many assumed.
He said Boko Haram’s activities, which began in 2009 while he was vice president, could not be reduced to issues of hunger or poverty, as the group had access to sophisticated weapons and external backing.
Jonathan also recalled the abduction of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls in 2014, describing it as a lasting scar on his administration. He expressed hope that one day leaders of the sect would provide detailed accounts of their actions, much like actors in the Nigerian Civil War did, to give the public a clearer understanding of their motives.
He advised the current administration to consider both dialogue and force in addressing the crisis, stressing that the scale of weaponry used by the insurgents proved the involvement of external supporters.
Boko Haram, which started in Borno State in the early 2000s, became a major national security threat after its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed in police custody in 2009.
The group grew deadlier in subsequent years, launching bombings, kidnappings, and large-scale attacks on both civilians and military targets.Back in 2012, at the height of the group’s violence, reports had surfaced that Boko Haram listed Buhari among respected northern leaders it trusted to mediate with the government.
Buhari, however, rejected the nomination at the time, saying his name was being linked to the crisis for political reasons.