Obasanjo: Jonathan overwhelmed by Boko Haram

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says President Goodluck Jonathan is overwhelmed by the challenge of Boko Haram.

He was speaking from Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday evening in a live interview with BBC Focus on Africa.

Reminded that he once advocated a carrot-and-stick approach to the insurgents, Obasanjo said since the stick approach was not working, “is there anything wrong with the carrot? I doubt it.”

“No matter how well meaning the president is, his assertion on [ending] Boko Haram has not been achieved. The president is overwhelmed,” Obasanjo said.

Obasanjo recalled the efforts he made to reach out to Boko Haram in 2011 after the attack on UN House in Abuja by the militants.

The August 26, 2011 suicide-bombing killed 21 persons and injured 73.

“I took it upon myself to reach out to the group after consulting with the president. I went to Maiduguri to meet the families of those who were killed [by the police] through the help of the lawyer who represented them,” he said.

The interviewer cut him short on most questions because of time constrain, but it appeared the former president was canvassing a non-military solution to the insurgency.