President Muhammadu Buhari sat down with The Telegraph for an interview that was published today, February 8.
Some of the most important issues addressed by the president are:
- Nigeria is willing to negotiate with Boko Haram about the abducted Chibok girls if the bona fide leaders can be identifed
- Boko Haram no longer control any of the 14 districts in Northeastern Nigeria that they used to call their caliphate
- He is not sure whether leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau is alive or dead
- Nigeria has sought the help of the leaders of the Western world (G7) in tackling the Boko Haram menace. The country has also sent a list of the infrastructure destroyed by the insurgents to the G7 for assistance with repairs
- Some foreign nations are already helping the country with training missions for its military but the country is not asking for any additional help militarily
- I am disappointed that Goodluck Jonathan’s administration used South African mercenaries to fight Boko Haram and also misappropriation of arms money (DasukiGate)
- There is a possibility, albeit an unconfirmed one, that Nigerians are fighting for ISIS in Sirte, Libya and Syria
- Nigerians should stop rushing abroad to claim asylum as refugees in the United Kingdom and other parts of the Western world. Their input is required to rebuild Nigeria
- I am aware of the negative perception of the country some criminally-minded Nigerians have created abroad
- One of the biggest suspects in DasukiGate is in Britain at the moment. The British legal system is too slow, because of its thoroughness, and it is preventing the Nigerian Government from claiming back assets of corrupt individuals from Nigeria hiding in the UK.