FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has said
that Boko Haram insurgents have legitimate
grievances, a report in The Cable on Monday
said.
Criticising the response of the current
administration to the Boko Haram insurgency in
some parts of the North, Obasanjo highlighted
low level of education as a contributory factor.
The ex-President spoke on Monday during a
global education conference in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
“They (Boko Haram) have legitimate grievances,”
he told IBTimes United Kingdom.
“We don’t need anyone to tell us that that is a
problem: a problem of disparity, a problem of
marginalisation.
“The response of the government initially was
definitely not enough. When Boko Haram started
showing their fangs about four years ago, the
reaction should have been firm and
unmistakable,” he added.
Obasanjo reiterated his carrot-and-stick
approach to solving the insurgency by the sect,
adding that the heat that the sect was facing
from the military at the moment could force it to
dialogue with the government.
“If Boko Haram is ready to talk, we should talk.
But they will need to be pounded a little bit by
the military and then, they would be ready to
talk,” he said.
Obasanjo added, “When we were dealing with the
carrot aspect, the stick aspect should have been
firm. I hope with that, we will now go the carrot;
the carrot is those things rightly or wrongly
perceived as injustice or grievances that can
now be dealt with.
“But the false confidence of the militants to go
into Chad, Niger and neighbouring countries has
now led to a regional coalition of military and
that has been reasonably effective; it has not
completely solved the problem.”
Source : Punch
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