Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in an interview with with the IBTimes UK has said that Boko Haram has “legitimate grievances” and Nigeria should not rule out talking to the terrorist group – but only after a sustained military campaign.

“If Boko Haram is ready to talk, we should talk. But by the time they are ready to talk they will need to be pounded a little bit militarily: at that stage they will be ready to talk,”

“The response of the government initially was definitely not enough. When Boko Haram started showing their fangs about four years ago, the reaction should have been firm and unmistakable. We have lost ground,” he said.

The Former president, also said that the joint military effort of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Nigerien in the fight against Boko Haram, has been very effective but he added that once progress had been made, Nigeria should not rule out engaging with the militants.