Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said he expected late President Muhammadu Buhari to end the Boko Haram insurgency during his eight-year tenure, given his perceived closeness to the group in its early years.

Jonathan spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum”, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor.

He recalled that at the height of the insurgency, Boko Haram once nominated Buhari to represent them in negotiations with the Federal Government, which made him believe Buhari’s presidency would easily pave the way for dialogue and disarmament.

“One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government. So, I felt that if they nominated Buhari to represent them, then when Buhari became president, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would surrender their weapons. But the crisis still persisted,” Jonathan said.

He noted that Buhari’s inability to defeat Boko Haram underscored the complexity of the crisis.

“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 is far more complex than it is often presented.”

Jonathan recounted that during his administration, several committees were set up and multiple strategies deployed to curb the insurgency, but none fully succeeded.

He stressed that Boko Haram’s operations went beyond issues of hunger, citing the group’s access to sophisticated weapons as evidence of external involvement.

“If you look at the weapons they use, and you value them, you know these are not hungry people. Sometimes they even had more ammunition than our soldiers. Where are these sophisticated weapons coming from? External hands were involved,” he said.

He also described the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls as a permanent scar on his presidency.

“It is a scar I will die with,” he admitted, expressing hope that one day insurgent leaders might document their motives, just as actors of the Nigerian Civil War later did.

Jonathan urged the present administration to adopt a carrot-and-stick approach, combining dialogue with firm military measures, to address the insurgency that has lasted over a decade.