Boko Haram Not Driven by Hunger, Sometimes Better Armed Than Nigerian Army — Ex-President Goodluck reveals they once nominated Buhari as negotiator
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Boko Haram insurgents are not motivated by poverty, stressing that they often wield more sophisticated w+apons than the Nigerian Army.
Jonathan spoke on Friday at the launch of “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum”, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (rtd).
Recalling past efforts to end the insurgency, Jonathan revealed that during his presidency a committee set up to negotiate with the group was surprised when Boko Haram nominated Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in talks.
“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and have 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 g¥ns. But it was still there till today,” he said.
He noted that the insurgency began in 2009 when he served as Vice-President under the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. “Even when I took over power in 2010 as president, I battled with it until I left office in 2015. I thought immediately I left, within a reasonable time, late President Muhammadu Buhari was going to wipe them out, but till today, Boko Haram is still here. So the issue of Boko Haram becomes more complex,” he added.
Jonathan urged the current administration to adopt a carrot-and-stick approach, stressing that the sophistication of the sect’s w+apons points to external support.
“Issue of carrots and the stick may be adopted, and yes, probably the needs are there, but if you look at the w+apons they use, and you value the w+apons, then you know that these are not hungry people. Sometimes the soldiers capture some of the w+apons and see they are even better. The w+apons they use, the ammunition they use, sometimes they even have more ammunition than our soldiers,” he said.
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