Boko Haram: Presidency, CAN criticise Obasanjo

Obasanjo, in an interview with CNN, said the government’s approach to fighting Boko Haram would not lead to the quick resolution of the insecurity the Islamic sect has unleashed on the country since 2009.
 

According to him, more could be done to reach out to Boko Haram to find out what had led the sect to wage a war against the state.
 He urged the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to adopt a multifaceted approach rather than just cracking down on the group.
 

“To deal with a group like that, you need a carrot and stick approach. The carrot is finding out how to reach out to them. When you try to reach out to them and they are not amenable to being reached out to, you have to use the stick,” he said.
 Obasanjo said Jonathan was “just using the stick” in his efforts, adding, “He's doing one aspect of it well, but the other aspect must not be forgotten


Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, said in an interview with The Punch that it was surprising that the same Obasanjo who said recently that his presidency applied force when he was confronted with similar situation in Odi, Rives State, has now turned round to accuse Jonathan of applying only the stick against Boko Haram.
 
“It is surprising. That means the former President contradicted himself. Were you not in this country recently when he said that when he was confronted with a similar issue in Odi, he applied force? Where exactly does he stand on this matter?” Abati said.
 
He said that contrary to what Obasanjo wanted the world to believe, the Federal Government’s handling of the Boko Haram menace had been purposeful and that a lot of progress had been made.
 
Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria described the ex-President’s position as unfortunate. The association has repeatedly expressed its opposition to dialogue with Boko Haram.
 
The Public Relations Officer for CAN in the 19 northern states, Mr. Sunny Oibe, said, “How do you negotiate with a faceless group except Obasanjo wants to tell us that he knows them? This is the same Obasanjo who went to see the family of Boko Haram founder, Yusuf Mohamed and after discussing with them, a senior member of the family was slaughtered. Our stand is that you don’t negotiate with a faceless group.
 
“President Goodluck Jonathan should not listen to such advice because it is a booby trap set for him to fall on a banana peel. The position of government should be strong on that because if they should negotiate with them, other groups will now emerge and they will now hold government and the people of this country to ransom.”