Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reportedly said that military offensive against Boko Haram will not completely solve the problem because they have legitimate grievances.
Obasanjo who attended a global education conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates spoke with IBTimes United Kingdom.
He re-emphasised his carrot and stick approach saying that if Boko Haram is ready to dialogue, the government should dialogue with them.
He said “They (Boko Haram) have legitimate grievances, 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.
“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.
“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.”
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