News: The mistake I made was underestimating Boko Haram - President Jonathan Confesses

President Goodluck Jonathan said he
underestimated Boko Haram Islamists who have
overrun swathes of the country’s northeast and
defended an election postponement in an interview
published Sunday.
Jonathan, facing a tight re-election bid against ex-military
ruler Muhammadu Buhari, has faced criticism over the vote
delay, which critics argue was designed to give him time to
shore up his campaign.
The military pushed for the six-week delay eventually
granted by the electoral commission to allow it to secure
the country for the vote, though Boko Haram’s insurgency
has raged for six years.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are now set for
March 28.
“Probably at the beginning, we, and I mean myself and the
team, we underrated the capacity of Boko Haram,”
Jonathan said in an interview with influential newspaper
ThisDay.
He said that the military has recently acquired more arms
and ammunition to do battle with the Islamists, vowing that
their suppression and the capture of the group’s leader were
near.
“God willing, we will catch (Abubakar) Shekau before the
elections,” he said.
Asked why six more weeks would make a difference in the
years-long conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people,
Jonathan said the military could make reasonable progress
in that time.
“We are not saying we must finish Boko Haram to conduct
elections, but we should get to a point where they will not
cause havoc if they make an attempt,” he said in the
interview.
“My belief is that by 28th of next month, when the elections
will be conducted, Boko Haram may not even be in a
position to attack any town, God willing.”
Nigeria‘s military authorities on Saturday claimed to have
recaptured the fishing town of Baga from the Islamists,
more than a month after it was overrun in what is feared to
be the worst massacre of the six-year insurgency.
There was no independent corroboration of the claim, as
thousands of Baga residents had fled the town after Boko
Haram attacked on January 3 and hundreds, if not more,
were killed in the following days.
Over one million people have been left homeless since 2009
as the rebels try to carve out an Islamic state in
northeastern Nigeria.
The Islamists have recently extended their violent campaign
into nations neighbouring Nigeria‘s northeast as regional
forces pursue them. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS

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