Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed concern that the Boko Haram insurgency has persisted for nearly 15 years, far exceeding the duration of Nigeria’s 30-month civil war.
Obasanjo made the observation on Sunday while speaking virtually as a guest on the Toyin Falola Interviews, which featured Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu.
He said the protracted nature of the insurgency should worry Nigerians, adding that the country’s security forces remain largely trained for conventional combat rather than the asymmetric warfare posed by insurgents, bandits and criminal networks.
“Civil war lasted 30 months. This fight against insurgency and criminals has lasted almost 15 years. That should worry anybody,” he said.
Obasanjo recalled visiting Maiduguri in 2011 to assess the origins of Boko Haram, noting that early leaders of the group expressed readiness for dialogue. He said the government failed to take advantage of the window.
“I reported back that they were ready to talk, that they agreed to a 21-day ceasefire for the government to reach out. Government never reached out,” he said.
The former president said Nigeria must urgently improve its intelligence capacity, provide modern technology to security agencies and expose military personnel to specialised foreign training.
He cited Colombia as an example of a country that addressed insurgency through specialised training and international collaboration.
“There is no shame in that. It is a specialised kind of training. What the military is trained for is conventional war, but the people we are dealing with now are fleeting targets or live among the people,” he said.
Obasanjo also faulted an alleged dependence on financial allocations as a solution to security and development challenges. He stated that many crises have deeper roots that require coordinated political and socio-economic interventions.
He narrated how a Niger Delta militant once told him he embraced militancy after graduating with a chemical engineering degree but failing to secure employment.
“That was what led me to start quarterly stakeholder meetings. But instead of sustaining that, they started sharing money. That does not solve any problem,” he said.
Commenting on security intelligence, Obasanjo expressed concern about internal sabotage and trust deficits with international partners.
He recalled that during his administration, movements of military helicopters in the Niger Delta were sometimes leaked by moles within the security system.
The former president said that although Nigeria can seek international support, the government must treat security strictly as a national priority.
“The government should see security as a national issue. And if we are incapable, let us ask the global community. The global community has an interest in our peaceful existence,” he said.
Obasanjo also addressed political coordination, noting that it remains the prerogative of the incumbent president to summon the Council of State or consult past leaders.
He further discussed the decades-long crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying the conflict is rooted largely in internal issues dating back to pre-independence years.
Obasanjo, who served in the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo in 1960 and later as UN Special Envoy to Eastern Congo and the Great Lakes Region, said many of the issues he encountered as a young officer remained unresolved decades later.
He cited citizenship disputes involving Rwandans living in Congo for generations, post-genocide tensions, and weaknesses in Congo’s military structure as major contributors to instability.
“Congo has no military organisation that can defend its territorial integrity and protect its people. Leaders before the current one built presidential guards, not a national military,” he said.
According to him, Congo’s strategic minerals have drawn heavy geopolitical interest from major powers, including the United States, China, France and the United Arab Emirates.
He warned that while foreign interests may influence the crisis, only Congolese leaders can provide a lasting solution.
“It is up to the government of Congo to know that the world is interested in what it has and how it would manage it,” he added.
Obasanjo said he had, at various times, urged leaders of Rwanda and Congo to take ownership of the peace process, noting that both countries acknowledged the role of African mediators.
He concluded that Congo’s vast size, resource wealth and internal divisions require a more decentralised governance model and realistic reforms.