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Tag: Aisha Wakil

  • We should be ready to accommodate repentant Boko Haram insurgents, says Aisha Wakil

    Human rights activist, Hajiya Aisha Wakil (a.k.a Mama Boko Haram), is not about to stop negotiating for peace with the terror sect, Boko Haram.

    She is confident that many of them will, in due course, see the need to embrace peace and return home.

    “All my sons in the bush will come home and surrender for peace,” Aisha Wakil said yesterday during the commissioning of the multi-million naira office complex and fund raising of her non- governmental organisation, Complete Care and Aid foundation in Maiduguri.

    She added: “I will not stop from negotiating for Boko Haram to be granted amnesty and to be accepted by the people in the society.

    “These are our own children and we cannot throw them away. We must accept them back if they decide to return home.”

    She said her foundation; Complete Care and Aid foundation was established to care for victims of insurgency including orphans, displaced and the vulnerable children.

    It is also intervening in education, health care and psycho-social support.

    Over N100 million was realized at the event.

  • Aisha Wakil rejoices over release of Dapchi girls

    A human right activist, Mrs Aisha Wakil, on Wednesday expressed joy over the release of the Dapchi school girls from Boko Haram captivity.

    The News men reports the Federal Government announced the release of the girls abducted by the insurgents at Government Science and Technical School, Dapchi on February 19.

    The insurgents transported the girls back to Dapchi in the early hours of today.

    Wakil, popularly called “Mama Boko Haram”, who appeared highly elated, told the News men that she received the news of the release of the girls with “great joy.”

    She commanded the Federal Government and other parties who contributed to the development, and expressed the hope that the remaining girls including Chibok girls would also be released soon.

    “I am highly elated over the release of the girls, it is a welcome development,” she said.

    The News men  report Wakil had earlier indicated interest to work towards the release of the abducted girls.

    Also, Malam Bashir Manzo, the Chairman, Parents Association of the Dapchi Abducted Girls, said that they were happy over the development.

    Read Also: Aisha Wakil: complex lingo of the mother hen 

    Manzo disclosed that they were currently taking head count of the girls, adding most of them had returned to their homes.

    Similarly, Mr Maina Musa and Ayuba Alamson, parents of abducted Chibok school girls, expressed joy over the development.

    They, however, tasked the government to secure the release of the remaining school girls in insurgents’ captivity.

    “It is disheartening on our part to see that our remaining children are still languishing in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents in the past four years,” Alamson said.

    Alamson noted that over 100 Chibok girls were in Boko Haram captivity since 2014.

    He called on the international community to support the Federal Government secure release of the girls and others still in captivity.

    The News men  reports also that representatives of the Chibok Parents Association had this morning paid a solidarity visit to Dapchi, to rejoice with the affected families.

    NAN

  • Aisha Wakil: complex lingo of the mother hen

    Aisha Wakil: complex lingo of the mother hen

    It’s not the best of times for Hardball; but worse is that it is the worst of times for motherland. It is a time of angst, sorrow and a fiesta of blood-letting.

    But in all this, the strong must stand, face and return. This was always the chant of our high school football coach those days on the practice pitch… face and return, face and return!

    We must face forward and return the ball back to the 18-yard box of our opponents (adversary): meaning that Hardball must studiously pen this moment and articulate our present restiveness lest we lose even the lessons.

    Besides, as Igbo say in that richly organic adage: if the mother hen stops making her guttural feeding sounds (kwom, kwom, kwom), her chicks would starve. In other words, even Hardball is also an existential being if you look beyond his exotica and ethereal altruism; he too does swallow with uncommon ease and he also stoops (to ‘be conquered’ if you like) in the small room – like all mortals.

    But the mention of mother hen and the existentiality of boluses of eba and amala return us inexorably to our current national anxieties and indeed absurdities.

    Now let us segue into the issue of the day and let’s try dealing with it with one mind: a certain woman known as Aisha Wakil but also known as Mama Boko Haram has stepped into the arena of our pains once again. She tells us she is in touch with the abductors of the about 110 school girls in Dapchi. In fact, the miscreants have put a call to her, she said.

    The chief kidnapper is her son… “Habib is a nice boy, he will not harm the girls, he will not touch them, he will not kill them,” she assured.

    But most notably, “He is going to listen to us.”

    But didn’t we hear similar reprise about the Chibok girls saga? Yet Chibok has remained an eternal national trauma; a morbid metaphor for a national calamity.

    Aisha Wakil reminds us of the mother hen that feeds her chicks frantically, noisily and jealously, even. All it cares about are her chicks and nothing else matters. Ms Wakil was reportedly one of the negotiators in what may well be called the Chibok debacle. Huge ransoms were paid yet many of the girls are yet to return. They may never return. Now this again!

    Now in the name of motherhood, Dapchi must not lapse into another Chibok cash out.

     

  • Mama Boko Haram Aisha Wakil raises hope over Dapchi girls

    Mama Boko Haram Aisha Wakil raises hope over Dapchi girls

    The Barnawi faction of Boko Haram has contacted human rights activist, Mrs Aisha Wakil, admitting it has in its custody the Dapchi schoolgirls who were abducted last week.

    The sect also hinted that the girls might be released.

    Wakil, popularly called Mama Boko Haram on account of her closeness to many of the sect members ,said yesterday that the Abu Musab Al-Barnawi faction called her on Thursday to confirm that it is keeping the girls.

    She told  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the  abductors told her  that the girls were safe, healthy and in good condition.

    She did not say how many of the girls are with the terrorists, although the Federal Government  put the number of the missing girls  at 110.

    The sect had called her following an earlier interview she granted PRNigeria in which she pleaded with  the abductors to release the girls to enable them to be reunited with their families.

    She said in that interview that she was ready to sacrifice her life to rescue the girls.

    Wakil said: “They were even the ones that called me, and said Mama we heard what you had said and told me that they were with the girls and they were going to release them.

    “I begged of them and said please let this not be another 1,000-plus days of Chibok girls, and they laughed and said no.

    “I asked them where I can come and stay with them (girls) for two days, but they did not say anything.

    “I can assure Nigerians that so far they are with my son, Habib (Abu Musab Al-Barnawi), and his friends.

    “Habib is a nice guy; he is a very nice boy. He will not harm them; he will not touch them; and he will not kill them.

    “He is going to listen to us, and so far, he indicated interest that he loves peace. And I love them for that and believe what they said on this.

    “They will definitely give us the girls. All I am begging Nigerians is to calm down, be prayerful, everything will be over.”

    The activist had, at various times, participated and played key roles in negotiations between the military authorities and Boko Haram insurgents’ commanders, which facilitated the release of numerous abductees from terrorists’ captivity.

    She  was a member of the Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges Committee in the northern region set up during the President Goodluck Jonathan era.

    Al-Barnawi is the first son of the late founder of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf.

    Yusuf died in police custody following a 2009 military crackdown on the sect in Maiduguri.

    The militant  group, Islamic State (ISIS), in August 2016  appointed Al-Barnawi as the head of Boko Haram, a decision which was vehemently rejected by Abubakar Shekau.

     

  • Boko Haram faction contacts Aisha Wakil over Dapchi girls

    Boko Haram faction contacts Aisha Wakil over Dapchi girls

    The Barnawi faction of Boko Haram has contacted human rights activist, Mrs. Aisha Wakil, admitting it has in its custody the abducted students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

    The sect also hinted that the girls might be released.

    Wakil, popularly called Mama Boko Haram on account of her closeness to many of the sect members, said on Friday that the Abu Musab Al-Barnawi faction called her on Thursday to confirm that it is keeping the girls.

    She said the abductors told her that the girls were safe, healthy and in good condition.

    She did not say how many of the girls are with the terrorists, although the Federal Government put the number of the missing girls at 110.

    The sect had called her following an earlier interview she granted PRNigeria in which she pleaded with the abductors to release the girls to enable them to be reunited with their families.

    She said in the interview that she was ready to sacrifice her life to rescue the girls.

    Wakil said: “They were even the ones that called me, and said Mama we heard what you have said and told me that they were with the girls and they were going to release them.

    “I begged of them and said please let this not be another 1,000-plus days of Chibok girls, and they laughed and said no.

    “I asked them where I can come and stay with them (girls) for two days, but they did not say anything.

    “I can assure Nigerians that so far they are with my son, Habib, (Abu Musab Al-Barnawi) and his friends.

    “Habib is a nice guy, he is a very nice boy. He will not harm them, he will not touch them, and he will not kill them.

    “He is going to listen to us, and so far he indicated interest that he loves peace. And I love them for that and believe what they said on this.

    “They will definitely give us the girls. All I am begging Nigerians is to calm down and be prayerful. Everything will be over in God grace.”

    NAN

     

     

  • Boko Haram: Army grants bail to Wakil, Bolori

    Boko Haram: Army grants bail to Wakil, Bolori

    The Nigerian Army has granted administrative bail to Ahmed U. Bolori and Aisha Wakil, two of the three persons declared wanted by the force over suspected links to Boko Haram.

    The Nation gathered that the bail was granted after the duo met certain stipulated conditions, including submission of their international passport.

    A top army officer, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that investigation into their alleged links to Boko Haram is still ongoing while expecting the third wanted person, Ahmed Salkida, a journalist residing in Dubai United Arab Emirate (UAE), to arrive the country.

    Bolori, Wakil and Salkida were declared wanted following the recent release of Boko Haram video purportedly showing some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

  • Stop seeking cheap popularity, group tells Salkida, others

    Stop seeking cheap popularity, group tells Salkida, others

    A civil society group under the aegis of Stand Up Nigeria (SUN), has asked journalist, Ahmed Salkida who has close link with Boko Haram to stop using his contact with the sect to seek cheap popularity.

    Salkida and two others, Ahmed Bolori and Aisha Wakil also known as Mama Boko Haram were declared wanted by Nigerian army in connection with the missing Chibok girls on Sunday.

    Bolori and Wakil (AKA Mama Boko Haram) have since reported to the Nigerian Army in an effort to clear their names from been linked with Boko Haram.

    Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, SUN’s Executive Director of Communication, Arubi Justina, said the use of close links with Boko Haram by the above named persons to seek popularity was condemnable.

    “Such antics must be condemned by professional bodies which any of the trio is claiming affiliation to,” she said.

    According to her, even if the trio had genuinely started out as professional journalist, negotiators, activists or any other occupation, they have since crossed the threshold of professionalism to become terrorists’ sympathizers who revel in supporting killers.

    She stated that Salkida has overstepped his journalistic boundaries, saying if he has no affiliation with the insurgents, he would have as a matter of national security divulge the information available to him to security agencies.

    According to her, these wanted persons were behind the series of Boko Haram negotiation scams that cost Nigerians billions of naira under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    She said: “Since they were declared wanted, these Boko Haram collaborators have taken to the media in their usual fashion in attempts to create public outrage against the military in the hope that this could be used to blackmail their way out having to give accounts for their relationship with the world’s most despicable terror group. They have immediately embarked on a media campaign to the effect that they are ready to appear before the army; that they have contributed and made so much sacrifice towards containing Boko Haram or securing the release of the girls; or that they are being persecuted.

    “Similarly, their fellow members in the intellectual wing of Boko Haram had desperately tried to paint the trio as victims; paint Salkida as a journalists being vilified for his doggedness and the other two as genuine negotiators.

    “Stand Up Nigeria therefore call on Nigerians, human rights activist, journalists and online community to shun any extension of solidarity to the trio of wanted Boko Haram sympathizers. Salkida, Wakili and Bolori have at different times confessed to knowing more than the ordinarily in terms of her association with Boko Haram.”

    She urged the Nigerian Army not to be distracted from their conventional military business, saying they are trying to use negative media to blackmail the Army and the Federal Government in a ploy that is as despicable as their association with Boko Haram.

  • Aisha Wakil named member of amnesty committee

    Aisha Wakil named member of amnesty committee

    President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed  Aisha Wakil as a member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North.

    Some members of the 26-man committee announced by the Federal Government last week had rejected the appointment.

    The committee, which is expected to find lasting solution to the crisis in the northern part of the country, is expected to be inaugurated today by President Jonathan.

    The statement issued Monday by Special Adviser to President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati reads: “The inauguration by President Goodluck Jonathan of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North and the Committee on Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons originally scheduled for 10 AM tomorrow, Wednesday, April 24, 2013 has been brought forward to 9 AM.”

    “President Jonathan has also approved the inclusion of Barrister Aisha Wakil as a member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North which has been given the task of identifying and constructively engaging key leaders of Boko Haram, and developing a workable framework for amnesty and disarmament of members of the group.”

    “As earlier announced, the inauguration of both committees will take place at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa. All members of both committees are expected to be seated by 08:30 AM in readiness for the prompt commencement of the inauguration at 09:00 AM.”

    “Members of the committees who reside outside the Federal Capital Territory are advised to arrive in Abuja today ahead of tomorrow’s inauguration.”

    “On arrival in Abuja, they may contact Mrs. Esther Gonda, Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for further information and logistics support.” It stated