Jonathan dodges Chibok, heads for France

He will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity, according to a news report on news service Reuters. The source said: “The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit,” on the last-minute decision to cancel […]

He will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity, according to a news report on news service Reuters.
The source said: “The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit,” on the last-minute decision to cancel the Chibok part of the trip. But last night on CNN, Doyin Okupe, Jonathan’s SSA Public Affairs, said the president never said anything about visiting Chibok. An argument even ensued between him and news anchor Isha Sesay and she stuck to her guns that the presidency indeed was supposed to visit the embattled village.
Nigerians have generally criticised the government’s initial response to the abduction, which took place on April 14th.
U.S. officials reportedly said the government had done too little to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram and President Jonathan has received a bashing from around the world about that, as well.
Last week, Jonathan asked France to arrange a security summit with neighbours Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, and officials from the United States, Britain and the European Union to discuss a coordinated response. The summit is taking place today.
Another Reuters report said French diplomats have reportedly ruled out any Western military operation but said they expected a regional plan to take shape for countering Boko Haram, which has killed more than 3,000 people in a five-year campaign. “The aim is to come up with an action plan this weekend so that these countries, with the support of the West, cooperate in terms of intelligence gathering, information exchange and border control to stop Boko Haram smuggling weapons and moving freely in this zone,” said a French diplomatic source.
“There is absolutely no dialogue between Cameroon and Nigeria,” said the source. “Until now, Cameroon has not accepted it has a problem – but it has been destabilised in the North by Boko Haram and in the east by the influx of refugees from Central African Republic. It must talk with Nigeria.”
Nigeria has already reached an agreement with Niger to allow its troops to cross the border in pursuit of Boko Haram, and is discussing a similar agreement with Chad.