Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recounted how Boko Haram once suggested that former President Muhammadu Buhari serve as their preferred negotiator during his administration’s attempts to engage the group in dialogue. Jonathan spoke in Abuja at the launch of “Scars,” a book by former Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor. He explained that his administration explored several approaches to curb insurgency but achieved limited success. According to him, Boko Haram’s nomination of Buhari led him to believe the crisis might end once Buhari assumed office as president.
Jonathan, however, noted that the continued existence of the insurgency showed that the problem was more complex than many assumed. He described the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls as a permanent scar on his presidency, saying no account of his time in office would be complete without acknowledging it. He urged the current administration to adopt a mix of dialogue and force in tackling the insurgency.
Reacting, former presidential spokesman Garba Shehu dismissed Jonathan’s remarks as misleading. He said Boko Haram leaders had never nominated Buhari, recalling that the former president himself survived a bomb attack by the group in 2014. Shehu argued that the claim was a recycled narrative once used by political opponents to discredit Buhari.
He explained that the confusion originated from a 2011 press briefing by a Boko Haram faction led by Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, who claimed Buhari and other northern elders were chosen as mediators. The statement, Shehu said, was quickly rejected by Abubakar Shekau’s loyalists. He maintained that Buhari had always opposed Boko Haram and that Jonathan’s comments ignored this history.
At the book presentation, President Bola Tinubu, represented by Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru, said Irabor’s account would serve as a guide for future security planning. Tinubu praised Irabor’s leadership during difficult times, stressing that Nigeria’s scars are proof of resilience. He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening the armed forces, improving intelligence gathering, and working with regional partners to defeat insecurity.
Tinubu emphasised that the Renewed Hope Agenda seeks to transform Nigeria into a peaceful and united nation, promising that the government would not relent until all threats to national security are eliminated.
