Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has described the 2014 abduction of the Chibok girls as a permanent scar on his legacy
Speaking on Friday at the public presentation of SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a memoir by retired Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor, Jonathan reflected on the challenges his administration faced in tackling Boko Haram.
Jonathan praised Irabor, saying the retired officer was “a soldier who stood for truth and never played politics with security.”
Reflecting on the Chibok tragedy, Jonathan 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.”
The 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Borno State sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign. While some girls managed to escape or were rescued, more than 80 remain unaccounted for.
Jonathan recalled that Boko Haram emerged in 2009, during his tenure as Vice President under Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and escalated under his presidency. “I battled Boko Haram for five years as President,” he said. “I thought Buhari would wipe them out quickly, but they remain.”
He emphasized that the insurgency is far more complex than often portrayed and called on Nigeria to rethink its approach to effectively address the threat.
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