Government to hold talks with radical Islamist group

Government to hold talks with radical Islamist group
Gloria Essien, New York

Nigerian’s President, Goodluck Jonathan, has voiced support for negotiations with a radical Islamist group that is suspected of carrying out almost daily attacks in north-eastern Nigeria.

Addressing reporters on the side-line of a major UN conference on HIV/AIDS, Jonathan said: "No government wants to kill the citizens of that country, whether they are carrying weapons against the state or not, they are citizens."

"The best option is to negotiate and make sure that they don't do that. We have succeeded in doing that in the Niger Delta area," he said

‘Issue not religious’

Jonathan said negotiations combined with an amnesty in the Niger delta region of Nigeria had proven an effective way of reducing tensions there.

He also dismissed the idea that the latest violence was a sign of tensions between the country's Muslims and Christians.

In his words: "The issue is not Christian versus Muslim, "If you look at the Boko Haram attacks - the recent explosions in Nigeria - they attack the main Islamic groups more because Boko Haram opposes Westernization.

"Anybody who embraces Western civilization or Western education is an enemy.  

He noted that group was even more antagonistic towards their fellow Muslims embracing the Western way of life.

He added that if negotiations in a "carrot-and-stick" approach failed to yield results, other options would have to be considered.

He did not mention the option that could be explored.

Williams