Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in 2014 left an indelible scar on his administration—one he will carry for the rest of his life.
Reflecting on the abduction of 276 students from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, Jonathan admitted that the tragedy continues to haunt him.
The former President spoke on Friday at the public presentation of “SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” a memoir authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.
He praised Irabor as “a soldier who stood for truth and never played politics with security,” before tying the book’s theme to his personal experience in office.
“The title of this book is quite interesting. One of the major scars on my government is the Chibok girls. As Bishop Kukah said, no plastic or cosmetic surgeon can remove it. It is a scar I will die with,” Jonathan said.
The 2014 mass abduction triggered global outrage, sparking the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and drawing attention from world leaders. While some of the abducted girls have since regained freedom, many remain missing more than a decade later, a grim reminder of Boko Haram’s insurgency and its toll on Nigeria.