Boko Haram Insurgency more complex than portrait, says Jonathan, looking for multiple facts – Thage

By Victor Osula, Abuja

The former president, Goodluck Jonathan, said that the insurrection of Boko Haram is “much more complex” than often described, observing that his successor, the deceased president Muhammadu Buhari, was not able to defeat the group despite being once appointed by the insurgents as their favorite negotiator.

Jonathan made the disclosure on Friday in Abuja, during the public presentation of scars, a book written by the former head of defense, General Lucky Irabor (retd.).

The former president said that his administration has set up several committees to explore dialogue with the insurgents and, in one case, the group chose Buhari as their favorite negotiator.

“One of the committees that we established then, Boko Haram has appointed Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government. So I felt that, oh, if they had appointed Bohari to represent them and have a discussion with the Government Committee, so when Buhari took over, he could have been a simple way to negotiate with them and would handle their guns. But it was still there to date, “said Jonathan.

Jonathan observed that the eventual struggle of Buhari to defeat Boko Haram during his mandate showed that the insurrection was “much more complex” than it often represented.

According to him, the roots and Boko Haram operations cannot be captured by a single narrative, underlining the need for a wider and unconventional approach.

“If you lead research and interview many people, you will only have part of the story, but never the complete story of Boko Haram. I thought that after I left, in a reasonable time, General Buhari would sweep them away. But even today, Boko Haram is still there. Boko Haram’s problem is much more complex than it is often presented.

“So, it is a little complex, and it is not a question of a single story. But I think, as a nation, we must look at the problem of Boko Haram in a different way from the conventional approach. I think we will overcome him one day, “he said.

Jonathan has also praised Irabor for having documented his experiences in scars, urging other military officers who participated in counterpines operations to provide their reports to enrich the historical documentation.

“Once again, let me thank General Irabor for this, because I always appreciate the people who clearly document the events. In this way, when we write our reports, we can borrow from this documentation. I also believe that all the military officers involved in the Boko Haram saga should provide information about what the group really represented,” he accused.

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