Nigeria: Negotiating With Boko Haram

editorial

AS long as the objectives are to rescue the over 200 Chibok girls who have been in the captivity of Boko Haram for more than a year and to restore peace to the war-ravaged North East of Nigeria, it would be a welcome development for the Federal Government to hold talks with the insurgents. President Muhammadu Buhari's hint the other day of the prospect of a negotiation with the group is, therefore, a sure step towards peace, which Nigerians should not be afraid to take. The country has been traumatised beyond description by the insurgent group. The wounds are deep and the wailing unceasing. An end must be sought and found to the senseless blood-letting.

While military efforts to defeat the Boko Haram are on course, an effective engagement as proposed by the president may contribute in some ways to preventing the insurgency from lingering any further. The president fully well acknowledged the grim reality of the insecurity in the country and the imperative of engagement with the group when he said that the activities of the insurgents were a great threat to the economic development of the nation. And that until the insurgents were routed and peace attained, much progress would not be recorded in any sector of the nation.

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