If claims by the leader of the
Northern Civil Society Coalition,
Mallam Shehu Sani are anything
to go by, it may take only a
phone call from the Presidency to put an end to the Boko Haram menace ravaging the North.
According to Sani, if President
Jonathan calls him today, he would give him the name and contact of one person whose intervention will lead to a successful dialogue with the militant sect.
Sani who spoke in an interview
with The Guardian during the
week, insisted that indeed, the
person in question is somebody
also known to the president.
“…I have repeatedly said that if
President Jonathan can make a
phone call to me today and ask me of one person who can solve the problem, I will give him the name of the person. And apart from the person, I don’t see the possibility of any other person whom the group
can trust,” the activist declared.
Sani also indicted some elements in the Jonathan government over the failure of past attempts at dialogue,
saying these persons may have
been sabotaging such efforts either in the mistaking belief that force can solve the problem or because they are deriving some pecuniary
gains from the situation.
“Boko Haram has agreed to a term of ceasefire, has agreed to dialogue, but has consistently been undermined by elements within the government who either choose to do so on the grounds that they believe the use of force can end the group or are sabotaging dialogue
because they believe they are
profiting from the system as it is.
“Before now, I used to think that Boko Haram was completely opposed to peace or ceasefire, but in the few occasions that I have been involved in seeking a way out
of this problem, I have seen that much of the sabotage came from the side of the government,” he said Confirming reports that he
facilitated former President
Obasanjo’s meeting with the family of a member of the Boko Haram sect sometime ago, Sani insisted that if the Federal Government showed sincere, dialogue could sooner than later end the activities of the militant sect.

Agency Report: The Guardian
Nigeria