President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Boko Haram's aim is to cause a war between Christians and Muslims in the country.
Speaking on Sunday at his seventh presidential media chat, Jonathan said, unlike the Niger Delta militants whose objective was to draw the government's attention to the plight of the people in the region, the Boko Haram sect had no clear objective.
The president added that the militants had leaders who were willing to come out and dialogue with the government but that Boko Haram are faceless people bent on causing havoc in the nation.
According to Jonathan, when the dreaded Islamic sect started launching its attacks on Christians, people thought they had a religious agenda. But when they started attacking Muslims too, it became clear they were out to cause a war between the Christians and their Muslim brothers.
"This is an activity by a few people who are bent on taking the country and the world backward. You cannot dialogue with people you don’t know. Even the spokesperson of Boko Haram has not come to tell us they are responsible for the kidnap of the Chibok girls," the president said.
Jonathan explained that the Federal Government of Nigeria has enlisted the support of many countries in its efforts to tackle the security challenges in the country, adding that the war against terrorism cannot be won by the government's declaration of a state of emergency alone.
Jonathan said, "We have been talking to heads of states from countries that could help us. From the beginning of this crisis, the United States has been assisting us. I have personally made requests to President Obama. I have always asked them to send their people to come and join our troops and see what we are doing. Don’t just sit there and say that we are committing human rights abuses. We have been talking with the Prime Minster of UK, Premier of China and others.
They have been helpful one way or the other. We have been making requests and will continue to make requests."
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