Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday revealed that Boko Haram terrorists once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.
Buhari, it could be recalled, took over from Jonathan in 2015.
He had during the electioneering, promised to end terrorism in six months, a pledge never fulfilled.
Speaking at the public presentation of a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja, Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.
He said the insurgents names Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.
Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.
“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 guns. But it was still there till today.”
Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.
