If you look at this issue of Chibok girls and this abduction saga, my personal opinion is that they have all along been hoaxed. I feel that people cannot just come up and abduct such a huge number of Nigerians. Starting with the Chibok girls, why was no single child of any of the teachers of that school abducted? Why were the teachers away before the abduction? Why was the school in session when other schools in the federation had closed? Why was the principal of the school promoted to a commissioner after the abduction instead of being demoted? If you look at the whole thing, it’s a game in which Nigerians don’t want to tell themselves the simple truth; we are good at telling ourselves lies.
Look at Boko Haram, for instance, people who were arrested during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in connection with the sect later became leaders in the Senate. Look at Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff, a former Governor of Borno State; look at Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume; accusing fingers were pointed at them, but the court told us that there was no substantial evidence to prosecute him (Ali Ndume). They (Modu Sheriff and Ali Ndume) are the people that are supposed to give full explanations on the Chibok girls’ saga, but nobody is talking. Nigeria is gradually becoming like a failed state.
The survival of Boko Haram to this extent in this country is an embarrassment to the Federal Government. You mean all the intelligent agencies in Nigeria cannot end Boko Haram? Yet, we are scavenging for the blood of our fellow brothers and sisters in Nigeria, that is the most painful thing. So, Chibok girls were victims of political power play and they ended up that way.
Secondly, if you look at the Leah Sharibu case, she unfortunately happened to be a victim. Why were the other ones released? If you look at the entire story surrounding the abduction of the Dapchi girls in their school, it was all a set-up. You see, Nigeria is a funny country that doesn’t seem to have a future, it is power that matters. If people are playing it safe and sound and are enjoying power at the top, that is all, nothing more. So, Leah Sharibu and Chibok girls, as far as I am concerned, the Federal Government has done virtually nothing in order to secure their release. My expectation has been that Boko Haram should have become history by now.
As powerful as Nigeria is, we shouldn’t be having Boko Haram, but because so many Nigerians are benefiting from the game of Boko Haram, it will hardly end. But, we pray that anything that has a beginning must also have an end. I wish that there would be a government that would come and address this issue, otherwise, if things should continue this way, I think that for some of us, our opinion about the Federal Republic of Nigeria is beginning to change. So, I wish the federal government would sit up and address this issue totally. •Rev. Joshua Maina (Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Bauchi State chapter)
No! The Federal Government has not done enough. When the elections were approaching, we heard promises by officials of the Federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari that efforts would be intensified to ensure the safe rescue of those girls. Since after the elections, we have not learnt of the government’s efforts to secure their release.
We are grieving because we no longer hear of efforts by the government to secure the release of the Chiboks girls and Leah Sharibu. The government has been quiet about it. We have not heard the President again say anything about it. We also have not heard from members of the President’s cabinet any information on efforts to rescue those captives. It appears those girls have been forgotten. So, we feel the Federal Government has not done enough. It is getting to five years since the Chibok girls have been in captivity; we feel that by now, frantic and concrete efforts would have been made and their release secured, but that is not the case.
So, we are calling on the Federal Government to do the needful because the government had promised that negotiations would continue so that the the girls would be released, but up till now, things are quiet. This makes one to feel that the promise was an election strategy. The Federal Government should step up efforts for the release of the captives.
We as well as the families of the victims have been traumatised. I want to believe that some of them may have had a heart attack, stroke or other ailments; they are traumatised. Not only the family but those of us who are concerned are also feeling the pains right inside us. We want to call on this government, if only they can do that, we will be very happy; the government should ensure the release of these girls.
Leah Sharibu has been held in captivity because she refused to denounce her faith. Government should do something so that this girl will be released. We believe that if the government wants to do it, it can ensure the release of the girl and the other Chibok girls. • Rev Akpen Leva (Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Benue State chapter)
It is a very sad commentary that years after the brutal abduction and captivity of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok schoolgirls, who are innocent Nigerians, the Federal Government has remained at the level of promises. It is unfortunate and heartrending, particularly for the parents, siblings, relations and community members of Dapchi in Yobe State and Chibok in Borno State.
Now, it is gratifying to hear about the efforts of the government, but even from the standpoint of a lawyer, the very moment your client is taken into police custody or cell, you will not be seen to have done anything, no matter how much efforts you make, if your client remains in custody.
You can only be said to seem to have done something when he or she is out of that detention.
In the same vein, the very many promises that the Federal Government has given in relation to the release of these young girls amount to an additional torture when indeed the promises have turned out to be hopes against hopes.
So, there is an admonition from us at the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights that the Federal Government should intensify efforts to secure the release of these girls. It is sad to note that in the area of its primary responsibility of securing lives and property, the government has not done enough and it is unfortunate that the country has graduated into the abduction and kidnapping of innocent citizens. • Mr Malachy Ugwummadu (National President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights)
That Leah Sharibu and the other Chibok girls have remained in captivity is unimaginable. I have been reading and following what the Federal Government is doing in fighting insurgency and kidnapping in Nigeria, the North-East in particular.
I must say that the government is doing a good job by securing the lives of its citizens. But, as a father, I will still have to urge the government to do more because the efforts may not be acknowledged until all the girls are rescued. I will urge the government to do all within its powers to make sure that all the girls are rescued. The lives of the captives are worth so much to their parents and the country.
Finally, I want to salute our gallant soldiers for going the whole hog, but this whole hog is inadequate until they return alive those in captivity, in this case, Leah and the remaining Chibok girls.
I want to use this opportunity to call on the President (Muhammadu) Buhari-led Federal Government to put more efforts in other to fulfil his campaign promises. May God bless the Federal Government of Nigeria. • Mr Umar Ahmedu (An Accountant at Federal College of Horticulture, Dadinkowa)
I don’t think they (Federal Government) have tried enough to bring back the girls because their approach is wrong. They have been paying ransom to the terrorists and also swapping detained Boko Haram commanders for some of the abducted girls. I don’t think they got it right from the beginning; so it is hard to say they are doing enough. The terrorists should not be emboldened with ransom payment or prisoner swap. Government should have given it all it takes to rescue the Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu. The girls should have been rescued at whatever cost instead of meeting the demands of the terrorists because the moment you do that, they can abduct thousands of other girls and also demand ransom.
We need to ask, what has this cost our nation? Some may argue that going after the terrorists may lead to loss of lives, but it (going after the terrorists) saves the country in the long run. This was the reason I criticised former President Goodluck Jonathan; that his administration should not have negotiated with Boko Haram. The idea of prisoner swap from the beginning was totally wrong.
What is the essence of securing two or three girls in Boko Haram custody after paying ransom when the insurgents can still abduct many more while using the money to buy more weapons and ammunition? We are just causing more damage to the country. Going after the terrorists would have served as a deterrent to those who may want to go into abduction in the future. • Mr Deji Adeyanju (Activist and Coordinator, Concerned Nigerians)
Compiled by: Success Nwogu, Adelani Adepegba, Olaleye Aluko, Chima Azubuike and Armstrong Bakam
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