Former President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls will remain a permanent scar on his life and political legacy.
He spoke in Abuja on Friday at the unveiling of SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a memoir authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.
Praising Irabor as a soldier of integrity who never politicised national security, Jonathan said the book’s title resonated deeply with him because of the tragedy that shook the world during his presidency.
“One of the greatest scars on my administration is the abduction of the Chibok Girls,” he said.
“As Bishop Kukah noted, no plastic or cosmetic surgeon can erase it. It is a scar I will carry to the grave.”
The abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014, triggered global outrage and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
While some girls escaped or were freed through negotiations, more than 80 remain missing over a decade later.
Jonathan recalled that the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, when he was Vice President and escalated during his time in office.
“For five years I fought Boko Haram as President,” he said.
“I believed that my successor, President Buhari, would eliminate them quickly, but the group has endured. The truth is that Boko Haram is far more complex than people realise.”
He argued that defeating the sect requires a mix of force and negotiation.
“The carrot-and-stick method may be the way forward,” Jonathan suggested, while pointing out that the insurgents’ sophisticated weaponry showed external sponsorship.
“Sometimes their firepower even outweighed what our soldiers had. That cannot be the work of ordinary villagers,” he added.
Jonathan’s handling of the abduction drew harsh criticism at the time, with civil society organisations faulting his government for slow reactions and poor coordination.
Families of the girls also accused his administration of secrecy and politicisation.
Defending himself, Jonathan explained that his initial silence was deliberate, aimed at safeguarding intelligence operations and sensitive investigations.
Since 2014, successive Nigerian governments have secured the release of 189 girls through rescue missions and negotiations.
But dozens are still missing, with survivors struggling with trauma, interrupted education, and social stigma, some returning with children fathered by their captors.
Jonathan concluded by insisting that the rescue of the remaining Chibok girls, along with Leah Sharibu, must remain a top national priority.
