Samuel Omang
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has clarified his recent comments regarding the late President Muhammadu Buhari and the Boko Haram insurgency, insisting that his words were misinterpreted.
In a statement released on Saturday by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan denied ever alleging that Buhari had ties with the terrorist group. He explained that his remarks were intended to highlight the deceptive tactics often employed by Boko Haram during the height of the insurgency.
“The attention of the Office of Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been drawn to misleading reports suggesting that Dr Jonathan alleged that Boko Haram nominated the late President Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in dialogue with the Federal Government, and therefore made him complicit in the Boko Haram crisis,” Eze said.
He added that the former president’s comments were “grossly misrepresented” and that at no time did Jonathan “suggest, imply, or insinuate that President Buhari had any connection with Boko Haram or that he supported the group in any form.”
According to Eze, Jonathan’s remarks were made in the context of a broader discussion on Nigeria’s security challenges, to illustrate how Boko Haram and its factions once invoked the names of prominent Nigerians as supposed mediators—without their knowledge or consent—to sow confusion and exploit political divisions.
“His reference was to a well-documented episode when various individuals and factions falsely claimed to represent the terrorist group and purported to name prominent Nigerians as possible mediators,” Eze explained.
He further noted that Jonathan’s point was to expose the group’s “duplicity” and manipulative strategies, not to accuse Buhari or any other individual.
Eze added that Jonathan only raised a rhetorical question, asking why Boko Haram did not end its terror campaign after Buhari became president if indeed they had truly nominated him as their negotiator.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Dr Jonathan recognises that President Muhammadu Buhari, like every patriotic Nigerian, stood firmly against terrorism and was himself a target of Boko Haram violence,” Eze said.
He stressed that both Jonathan and Buhari, during their respective administrations, were committed to restoring peace and stability in Nigeria.