Abduction of 276 Chibok girls remain permanent blemish on my Presidency — Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has acknowledged that the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls is a permanent blemish on his presidency.

He expressed these thoughts on Friday during the launch of SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a memoir written by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor. Jonathan praised Irabor as “a soldier who stood for truth and never mingled politics with security.”

Reflecting on his time in office, Jonathan stated, “One of the most significant blemishes on my administration is the Chibok Girls incident. As Bishop Kukah remarked, no amount of plastic or cosmetic surgery can erase it. It is a scar I will carry for life.”

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The abduction of 276 girls from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, sparked global outrage and led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. While some girls managed to escape or were released, over 80 remain unaccounted for. Survivors continue to face stigma, trauma, and disrupted education, with some returning home with children conceived during captivity.

Jonathan highlighted that the Boko Haram crisis, which began in 2009, escalated during his presidency. “I fought Boko Haram for five years as President. I expected Buhari would eliminate them swiftly, yet they persist. At times, they even had more weapons than our military, which does not reflect poorly on underprivileged villagers,” he remarked.

Despite facing significant criticism for his administration’s handling of the situation, Jonathan explained that his initial silence was intended to protect sensitive intelligence. He asserted that the insurgency was more intricate than many realized and advocated for a fresh strategy, emphasizing that a “carrot and stick” approach might be necessary.

More than ten years later, subsequent administrations have rescued or facilitated the release of around 189 girls, yet many remain in captivity. The Federal Government continues to assert that securing the release of the remaining Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu is a national priority.