Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the President on Media and Publicity has amplified the comments he made to the BBC in an interview on Friday, in which he said that the federal government will be open to negotiating with Boko Haram terrorists if they are willing to come to the table.
Adesina’s comments led to a lot of debates and rebuttals. He has now released a fresh statement this Saturday evening which he titled “amplification of comments on negotiations with Boko Haram.”
In his new statement, the presidential spokesman averred that most wars no matter how vicious they went, “end around the negotiation table.”
He however said that the difference in this case is that the government will not be negotiating from a position of weakness but one of strength.
“The machinery put in place, and which will be set in motion soon, can only devastate and decapitate insurgency. It is multinational in nature, and relief is on the way for Nigeria and her neighbours. President Muhammadu Buhari is resolute. He has battled and won insurgency before, he is poised to win again. It is a promise he made to Nigerians, and he is a promise keeper.
“But I say again, if the insurgents want to negotiate, no decent government will be averse to such. Didn’t the Taliban and Americans also negotiate in Afghanistan?” he said.
