Breaking: Jonathan Mentions Name of Ex-President Whom Boko Haram Chose as Negotiator
- Former President Goodluck Jonathan revealed that Boko Haram once named Muhammadu Buhari as their preferred negotiator during peace talks
- Jonathan said the group had suggested Buhari to represent them when efforts were being made to reach a truce
- The disclosure highlights the complex role political leaders played in Nigeria’s fight against insurgency
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated Muhammadu Buhari, his successor, as their preferred negotiator in peace talks with the federal government.
Jonathan made this disclosure on Friday, October 3, at the public presentation of Scars, a memoir written by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
"One of the committees we formed then, Boko Haram shortlisted Buhari to lead their delegation to negotiate with the government," Jonathan stated.
He added,
"So I was thinking that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to stand for them and debate with the government committee, then when Buhari entered, it would have been an easy way of negotiating with them and they would have laid down their guns. But it was still there until today."
Buhari’s struggle showed Boko Haram’s complexity
Jonathan stressed that Buhari’s inability to end the insurgency highlighted how complicated the crisis was, Punch reported.
"If you do your research and talk to many people, you will hear half the story but you will never have the full story of Boko Haram. I was there. Boko Haram began in 2009 when I was vice president. I came into office in 2010 and fought the insurgency for five years until I left office.".
"I had thought after I left, within a reasonable time, that General Buhari would have flushed them out. But even up to today, Boko Haram remains. The problem of Boko Haram is compounded than it is portrayed to be."
He called on Nigeria to recast its strategy:
"Personally, I think that as a country, we should address the Boko Haram problem differently from the traditional method. I think someday we'll move on."
Chibok girls’ abduction remains Jonathan’s scar
Source: Facebook
Jonathan called the abduction of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 an open sore on his presidency, Vanguard reported.
"It's something I will die of," he asserted. "But perhaps later we will understand more, and that also has to do with Boko Haram.".
He also wished that the future would see the insurgent commanders record their own affairs, just as players of the Nigerian Civil War had recorded their histories.
Calls for carrot-and-stick approach
Jonathan also maintained that the access of Boko Haram to sophisticated weapons showed foreign involvement beyond hunger or poverty.
"Yes, perhaps there are needs, but if you observe the weapons they carry, and you hold the weapons in your hand, then you know that these are not hungry people.".
"The soldiers who carry some of the weapons at times will have better eyesight, but the weapons they carry, the ammunition they shoot, sometimes even more ammunition than our soldiers. Where are these weapons, these advanced weapons, coming from? You start noticing that there are foreign hands involved, particularly when I was president."
Buhari died in 2025 not 2017
Previously, Legit.ng reported that former President Muhammadu Buhari died in a London hospital on Sunday, July 13, 2025, and was given a state burial at his hometown of Daura, Katsina state, two days later.
The conspiracy about Buhari's death gained traction in 2017 during one of his longest absences from public view. In January of that year, Buhari left Nigeria for medical treatment in the United Kingdom (UK), handing over power temporarily to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Source: Legit.ng
