We will persuade Boko Haram terrorists to embrace peace – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the readiness of his government to persuade members of the Boko Haram sect to embrace peace.
Buhari made the pledge on Friday when a delegation of residents of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, comprising of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, paid him Christmas visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He spoke barely 24 hours after he claimed that the Federal Government has technically won the war against insurgents.
In an interview with the BBC, the President claimed that Boko Haram insurgents could no longer carry out “conventional attacks” against security forces or population centres, stressing that the sect had been reduced to fighting with improvised explosives devices and had been confined only to Borno State.

However, Buhari on Friday assured that his government will put in place mechanisms to persuade members of the sect to allow peace reign, though he did not disclose the nature which the persuasion would take and those who would be involved.
Buhari said, “On Boko Haram, this government is determined to make sure that we persuade them if they can be persuaded, we will use government institutions to persuade them to allow peace to reign.”
The President recalled that from the analysis of the All Progressives Congress during its campaign, it was discovered that the country’s three biggest problems are security, unemployment of youths as well as bribery and corruption.
He averred that while the youths make up 65 per cent of the country’s population, 65 per cent of them are unemployed.
Buhari further stated that there could not be any development without security.
His words, “We appreciate that the security agencies are doing their best and their best is showing and we have to continue praying for them. There can be no development without security; we have to continue to pray for them.
“We have two million people who are Internally Displaced Persons and 70 per cent are women and 70 per cent of them are children, some of them are orphans; they grew up not knowing their parents, tradition or culture.
“As leaders, we have a weighty responsibility to ensure that infrastructure for the orphans are taken care of.
“As leaders, we wake with the feeling for those children; the most important thing is that they must not be denied education. Schools must be rebuilt. We also thank Danjuma and the G7 led by the United States. They have been doing their best to help Nigeria train our military,” he said.