Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in an interview he granted to Bloomberg TV on May 30 2014, criticised Jonathan for failing to act swiftly to rescue the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls. The girls have been with Boko Haram since April 14 this year.
Jonathan, he alleged, did not believe the pupils were abducted until 18 days after.
He said, “On the kidnapping or abduction, the President did not believe that those girls were abducted for almost 18 days. If the President got the information within 12 hours of the act and he reacted immediately, I believe those girls would have been rescued within 24 hours, maximum, 48 hours.
“Don’t forget, they are almost 300 girls. The logistics of moving them is something. Unfortunately, the President had doubts; ‘Is this true? Is this a ploy by some people who don’t want me to be President again? Who is doing this?’ I think that was the unfortunate aspect of the whole exercise or situation.”
Culled from Nigerian Punch Newspaper, Sunday, June 8, 2014.