Former President Goodluck Jonathan has opened old wounds, recalling the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls abduction—a tragedy he calls a permanent stain on his legacy.
He spoke on Friday during the public presentation of SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a memoir by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.
Jonathan, addressing the audience, said: “The title of this book is quite interesting. One of the major scars on my government is the Chibok Girls. As Bishop Kukah said, no plastic or cosmetic surgeon can remove it. It is a scar I will die with.”
He praised Irabor as “a soldier who stood for truth and never played politics with security.”
The Chibok Abduction and Its Legacy
In April 2014, the militant group Boko Haram stormed Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, abducting 276 female students. Many escaped or were later freed, but about 80 girls remain unaccounted for to this day. The event triggered global outrage under the #BringBackOurGirls movement.
This tragedy has haunted Nigeria’s conscience. It became a symbol of state failure and rekindled debates about national security, neglected northerns, and institutions that could not protect the vulnerable.
Jonathan reminded listeners that Boko Haram’s insurgency began in 2009, when he was Vice President. The threat worsened under his presidency, he said, and those years tested his administration.
He insisted: “I battled Boko Haram for five years as President… I thought Buhari would wipe them out quickly, but they remain.”
A War That Defies Easy Solution
Jonathan urged new strategies. He said the Boko Haram crisis is “far more complex than many assume.”
He proposed a mix of carrot and stick tactics and warned about external support for the insurgents. “Sometimes they even had more munitions than our soldiers,” he said, questioning how impoverished fighters could access advanced weaponry.
He also challenged the government to rethink the response, saying the military alone cannot end the crisis.
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