President Buhari has again made it clear that the safety and return of the Chibok girls is a priority to his government.
Answering questions on the CNN programme, Amanpour, President Buhari said that his government would be willing to negotiate with the Boko Haram sect as long as there are assurances that the leadership of the sect coming forward was genuine, noting that rescuing and rehabilitating the Chibok girls remained paramount.
“We have to be very careful about the credibility of various Boko Haram leaderships coming up and claiming that they can deliver.
“We have to be very careful indeed and we are taking our time because we want to bring them (Chibok girls) safe back to their parents and to their school.”
President Buhari also linked the efforts to develop the Nigerian economy, which is a major demand among Nigerians, to security.
“My people, I believe, want the security in the country to be stabilized so that normal life (can resume) both in the southern part of the country where the militants are still sabotaging oil installations, kidnapping people and demanding ransom and in the north-east where Boko Haram is still active.
“This is a realistic way of looking at things. Nothing will work until the country is secure.”
He also promised to tackle corruption, making it clear that there will be no sacred cow. “There will not be any party member or any personality that can escape justice,” he said.
The President is also optimistic that his American counterpart, Barack Obama would visit Nigeria in the near future.
