Buhari: Govt in Talks with Boko Haram on Chibok Girls

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday disclosed that the federal government had opened up negotiations with members of the Boko Haram sect with a view to securing the release of over 200 female students kidnapped from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State well over a year ago.

The president stated this yesterday while responding to questions from members of the Nigerian community in Paris, France under the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO).

The president, however, said the sect had given some tough conditions for the release of the girls.
Buhari said one of the conditions was the terror group’s demand for the release of one of its members who is currently in government detention and was strategic in making improvised explosives devices (IEDs), a demand, he said his government would not accept.

Buhari said: “They want us to release one of their leaders who is a strategic person in developing and making IEDs that are causing a lot of havoc in the country by blowing up people in churches, mosques, market places, bus parks and other places.

“But it is very important that if we are going to talk to anybody, we have to know how much he is worth.
“Let them bring all the girls and then, we will be prepared to negotiate. I will allow them to come back to Nigeria or to be absorbed into the community.”

He assured the Nigerian community that his administration was worried about the continued stay of the girls in the hands of their captors and was working tirelessly to get them released.

Buhari said that the unfortunate incident had attracted global attention and sympathy within and outside Nigeria, making it impossible for government to fold its arms.

“The issue of Chibok girls has occupied our minds and because of the international attention it has drawn and the sympathy throughout the country and the world, the government is negotiating with some of the Boko Haram leadership,” he added.

The president also told his audience that the federal government was being very careful in its negotiations to determine if the group it is talking with was bona fide owing to disappointments in the past.

“The discussions at this stage are preliminary to determine if the group the government is talking to has the clout to deliver the girls as it claims. Government has been disappointed in the past so we have to tread with caution.

“So we have to be very careful, the concern we have for the Chibok girls, one can only imagine if one has got a daughter there between 14 and 18 years and for more than one and a half years, a lot of the parents who have died would rather see the graves of their daughters rather the condition they imagine they are in.

“It is a very sensitive development in the sense that first we have to establish, are they genuine leaders of the Boko Haram. That is number one. Number two, what are their terms, the first impression we had was not very encouraging,” he said.

He added that the global attention the kidnapping had attracted made it necessary for the government not to give in to the demands of Boko Haram.

“That is why this government is very hard in negotiating and getting the balance of those who are alive,” he explained.
Buhari assured his audience that his administration was doing everything possible to improve the economy through provision of infrastructure in critical sectors.

The Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity Femi Adesina had in July this year confirmed the willingness of government to engage the sect if it was ready.

Adesina had said the federal government was not ruling out negotiations with the sect if it would bring an end to the activities of the group.

Some Nigerians who were allowed to ask questions during the interaction with Buhari demanded to know what government was doing to guarantee the plights of the disabled.

Questions were also asked about the possibility of Nigerians resident overseas to vote during election.
Meanwhile, in what amounted to providing some insight into his economic policies, Buhari yesterday in Paris said he would continue with the privatisation programme started by his predecessors.

A statement signed by one of his media aides, Mr Garba Shehu, said the president spoke while addressing leading French businessmen and investors at the headquarters of the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF).

The president said one of the key objectives of his administration's ongoing economic reforms is to restore the confidence of investors in the Nigerian economy.

He said: “The privatisation of key sectors of our economy, which was started under previous administrations, will be pursued and expanded to include other sectors.

“This exercise will be conducted in an open, transparent and competitive manner.
“We recognise the private sector as the engine of growth and a veritable partner in our Economic Agenda, and will therefore give the fullest possible support to foreign and domestic entrepreneurs.

“Our administration is poised to redress the serious infrastructure gaps in Nigeria, raise production to create more jobs, build capital and stimulate further growth and prosperity of the country.”

The statement said Buhari also reaffirmed his government's determination to curb corruption in Nigeria.
The president said: “Our ongoing economic reforms are designed to restore business confidence and block leakages and wastage of public resources. We are also focused on the recovery of stolen wealth belonging to the country.”

Buhari also assured investors in France and other parts of the globe of his administration’s commitment to provide a suitable business environment that would boost economic activities and create jobs for Nigerian youths.

He said: “It is a positive development that today, Nigeria is the largest trading partner with France in Africa. But opportunities abound to greatly increase the current $5 billion annual trade volume and I fully agree with President (Francois) Hollande when he declared in February, 2014 in Abuja that the trade volume between both countries should double in four years.”

According to him, this trade expansion would cover critical areas such as agriculture, energy, automobile and skills development.
“Today many French companies are happy to have flourishing businesses in Nigeria, opportunities abound to greatly increase the $5 billion annual trade volume between the two countries,” he added.

The president said his decision to approach headlong the issue of insecurity within the early days of his government was to ensure the safety of all citizens and guarantee the safety of both local and foreign investors.

Buhari explained that Nigeria and France already have a cordial trade partnership and needed to promote a win-win sustainable business relationship.

He recalled the long-standing economic ties between the two countries which dates back to 1902 when the CFO set up a training programme in Lagos State.

Buhari said his government would rebuild Nigeria into a competitive, virile, productive economy based on excellence, integrity, transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law.

Buhari lauded the commitment of Hollande to redouble trade between both countries.
The president said: “Nigeria is now at a new dawn to chart and re-position its destiny for greatness. We are resolved and firmly determined to consolidate on industrialising Nigeria and diversifying its economy into sectors such as agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, petro-chemicals, food processing and textiles.”

Buhari told his audience that his government would spare no effort to sustain Nigeria’s credentials as the preferred and number one investment destination in Africa, as well as the country with the fourth highest investment returns in the world.

“Nigeria has what it takes to make a breakthrough and there is more to Nigeria than oil. It is a blessed land rich in agricultural and mineral resources coupled with skilled and low-cost labour, large market, and a robust and competitive private sector,” he added.

The president thanked Mr. Pierre Gattaz, President of MEDEF, organisers of the French-Nigeria Business Forum, for mobilising the platform and said he looked forward to their business trip to Nigeria in three weeks' time.

Earlier in his remarks, Gattaz spoke on the interest of French businessmen in the Nigerian economy, being the biggest in Africa.

He described the electoral victory of Buhari as a launch pad for Nigeria to become the largest country in terms of its democracy, demography and development, and called on Buhari to count on the support of French business community which he promised to lead to Nigeria in a few weeks time.

Gattaz announced that the umbrella organisation of about 800,000 French manufacturing firms and businesses would undertake a trade mission to Nigeria next month.

Gattaz said that the MEDEF trade delegation would comprise prospective investors in agriculture, mining, automobile, energy, skills development, light manufacturing, food processing, civilian transportation services, and many other areas.