In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV Africa OBJ stated that president could not believe that the students were abducted, lived in denial for almost 18 days, and only growing international pressure was able to wake him up.
Obasanjo noted that time was critical. President Jonathan did not give valuable orders, which could have brought the girls back home in 1, maximum 2 days. Instead, he preferred to wait, and did not react to information, which appeared with him about 12 hours after the horrible act.
The former president believed that Jonathan had doubts and preferred to wait after receiving reports about the abduction, because this information looked like a plot by some of his political opponents, who wanted to discredit him.
OBJ concluded that Jonathan’s passive position and slow reaction were among the most unfortunate aspects of the whole development.
Describing the overall performance of President Jonathan during his four years in the office Obasanjo said: “I don’t believe he has performed to the expectations of many Nigerians, not just me.”
It would be recalled that President Jonathan acknowledged the seriousness of the situation in more than two-week-time since the abduction, when he initiated creation of the Presidential fact-finding committee on May 2 and had a crucial meeting at Aso Rock with a large delegation from Borno State on May 3, 2014.
The issue of missing girls was further discussed during the Presidential media chat on May 4, 2014.
Jonathan accepted help from the U.S. Administration on May 6, 2014, right ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa, in Abuja.
At the same time, ex president Obasanjo seeks an alternative, peaceful way to free the hostages. He conducted talks with Boko Haram mediators in order to develop a plan on how to liberate the missing students without firing a single shot.
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