EXCLUSIVE: Obasanjo says half of abducted Chibok girls may never be found

 

Former President Obasanjo says the government has refused to take up his offer to negotiate with Boko Haram

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that half of nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by the extremist Boko Haram from Chibok, Borno State, may never be found despite ongoing rescue efforts, in a grim prediction likely to unsettle parents and Nigerians pushing for their release.

Mr. Obasanjo said on Thursday it would be “inconceivable” to have all the girls back, and that it would be a “near-miracle” if that happens.

“It’s inconceivable to get all of them back. If you get all of them back, I will consider it a near-miracle,” said the former president, who spoke by telephone from Senegal.

“Do you think they will hold all of them together up till now? The logistics for them to do that, holding over 200 girls together, is too much.”

The remarks are likely to unnerve distraught parents who have endured the past two months without their daughters, and have barely received firm information about their whereabouts.

Parents who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in Chibok last week urged the federal government to negotiate with Boko Haram without delay.

The girls are two days short of two months in captivity, with the captors defying a global campaign for their release.

The Nigerian government, which has faced international rebuke over its handling of the abductions, has not in the last one week provided any new information on its effort at rescuing the girls.

On Thursday, the United Kingdom pledged increased military support to Nigeria and more assistance towards education.

The U.K. Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said the Nigerian army would receive extra training, especially in counter-insurgency tactics, while a million more children would be given schooling.

He stressed that human rights must be respected in the operation against the militant group, and that the extra aid must be spent effectively amid reports of corruption in the military.

The assistance would be provided in conjunction with France and the United States- the three countries already helping Nigeria with intelligence and surveillance in the search for the Chibok girls.

The offer came after a security meeting in London over Boko Haram.

President Goodluck Jonathan welcomed the decisions reached at the meeting, which also include a plan for a regional intelligence unit between Nigeria, Chad, Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Cameroon.

Mr. Obasanjo said the Nigerian government failed to act early enough after the raid by Boko Haram sect.

The best option now, he said, is for the government to negotiate with the insurgents.

It took President Goodluck Jonathan three weeks to publicly comment on the abduction, and to respond by naming a “fact-finding” committee.

“72 hours was already too late. If the administration had acted quickly, we could have rescued them,” he said. “The best it seems we can have now is if the government agrees to negotiate, we can get half.”

The former president said he has tabled his proposal to commence talks with Boko Haram before President Jonathan, but has yet to receive a feedback.

Without a response from the authorities, no one can proceed, Mr. Obasanjo said.

“If they agree to negotiate then we can begin to talk with them (Boko Hara),” he said. “Nobody can do anything alone. You cannot do it alone, it is not a one man mission, it’s not even a two man mission. It’s a collective mission. It can even be an international mission,” he said.

Mr. Obasanjo said it is possible the government considers his proposal “irrelevant” and was moving through with another process.

“I read that they are working with one Rev. Davis from Australia who is close to the Bishop of Canterbury,” he said. “That is fine. We have to hope for the best.”