How Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with my government — Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Friday revealed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated former President Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in peace negotiations with the Federal Government during his administration.
Jonathan made the disclosure at the public presentation of “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” a book written by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, in Abuja.
He said his government had established several committees to explore non-military solutions to the insurgency which began in 2009, noting that “during one of such processes, the insurgents put forward General Muhammadu Buhari as their preferred negotiator.”
The former president said he expected that Buhari, having been nominated by the group, would have found it easier to negotiate peace when he became president in 2015.
“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 stated.
He described the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls as a lasting scar on his administration and urged the Tinubu government to adopt a “carrot and stick” approach in tackling the decade-long insurgency.
“If you look at the weapons they use, you know these are not hungry people. Sometimes they have more ammunition than our soldiers,” he added, suggesting that external forces might have been supporting the terrorists.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, commended Irabor for documenting his experiences, describing the book as a “roadmap for the future.”
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to modernising the Armed Forces and ensuring lasting peace through the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“A scar tells a story. It reminds us of pain but also proves that survival is possible,” Tinubu said.
Dignitaries at the event included the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III; Bishop Matthew Kukah, who reviewed the book; Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; former NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd); and former CDS, General Alexander Ogomudia (rtd).
However, the camp of former President Muhammadu Buhari swiftly rejected Jonathan’s claim.
In a statement issued Friday night, Buhari’s former media aide, Garba Shehu, described the allegation as “false and misleading.”
“Muhammed Yusuf or Abubakar Shekau, the deceased leaders of Boko Haram, never nominated Muhammadu Buhari for any such role,” Shehu stated.
“In fact, Shekau routinely denounced and threatened Buhari, and their ideologies were in direct opposition.”
He recalled that in 2014, Boko Haram carried out a bomb attack on Buhari’s convoy in Kaduna, injuring members of his staff.
Shehu explained that the false impression stemmed from a 2012 press briefing in Maiduguri, where a factional Boko Haram representative, Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, named Buhari and other northern elders as potential mediators.
“That statement was later disowned by the group’s leadership, which said Abdulaziz had no mandate from Abubakar Shekau,” Shehu added.
He accused Jonathan of trying to “revise history ahead of a possible 2027 political comeback,” warning that such claims misrepresent the true record of events.
