President Muhammadu Buhari has told the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, that Nigeria would welcome intermediaries from the global body as part of his administration’s commitment to swapping the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok with Boko Haram fighters in custody.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe at the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York, President Buhari said the Nigerian government was willing to bend over backwards, to get the Chibok girls released from captivity.
He said: “The challenge is in getting credible and bona fide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with,”
“The split in the insurgent group is not helping matters. Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in.”
The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, also reiterated that the teachings of Boko Haram were far from being Islamic, as neither Islam, nor any other religion, advocates hurting the weak and innocent.
“The fact that they kill men, women, children, and other people wantonly, and shout Allahu Akbar (God is great) shows that they do not know that Allah at all. If they did, they would not shed innocent blood,” President Buhari said.
He thanked Ban Ki-moon for the moral and material support given to Nigeria, which has enabled the country surmount many of the challenges facing her.
In his response, the UN Secretary General congratulated President Buhari on the anti-corruption war, declaring: “You are highly respected by world leaders, including myself. Your persona has given your country a positive image.”
What a double standard! Didnt Niger Deltans propose same UN good offices? Let us see how these all pan out.
ReplyDeleteNegotiations! To be honest the Nigerian government are never sincere on these issue of insurgency. The last time they said they won't negotiate, the army later vowed to rescue the girls before December deadline and now their plea for UN assistance is simply an indication that Book Haram are still active and strong probably strtegising to bounce back. I bet you that by now most of the Chibok girls if any have imbibed the radical ideology of the islamist, while preparing to nurse a second child.
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