THE Federal Government yesterday denied knowledge of a report, which claimed that the over 200 school girls kidnapped from Chibok community by members of Boko Haram sect about one year ago have been killed.
The Coordinator of National Information Centre (NIC), Mr. Mike Omeri, during a security briefing yesterday in Abuja, maintained that all hope on rescuing the girls alive was not lost yet.
He urged Nigerians to be hopeful as recovery of the captured towns and villages from Boko Haram were still ongoing, urging people to disregard speculations.
Omeri said: “The search for Chibok girls continues and that is why even with capture of Bama and the rest, security and military have never relent. And until it is concluded, we cannot begin to believe speculation.
“I think the one year anniversary is next week, and we hope to give a comprehensive report on what we know so far, and how far the searching has gone.
“So, the assurance I will give you is that everywhere is being combed and whatever element we found will be revealed to appropriate authority, and nobody is going to keep anything secret.”
He urged Nigerians to be vigilant during the Saturday governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections, adding that military would be ready to subdue any form of attack from any terror group.
Omeri assured that the Nigerian military would be on ground in troubled states to ensure a peaceful election.
He urged the citizens, especially those in the area where the military has been battling the Boko Haram, to remain calm and vigilant.
His words: “Recall that in our statement on the eve of the presidential and National Assembly elections. We reiterated to Nigerians the need to exercise the highest level of vigilance and also scrutinise the activities of unknown and strange persons within their environment.
“In respect of the forthcoming governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, we remind the citizens to maintain a similar level of vigilance and caution to ensure a peaceful and incident-free exercise.”
But yesterday, members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy said the Chibok girls would never be forgotten.
#BBOG is organising a Week of Global Action to commemorate the year anniversary of the girls’ abduction with different activities, which will climax on April 14.
The events, according to the group, are to remind the world that the 219 Chibok girls are still in captivity after a year.
The events will include a walkathon, a Special Juma’at prayer in mosques nationwide and a special Asr Prayer at the Unity Fountain; a Special Sunday services in churches nationwide and a commemoration service at the Unity Fountain; social media chats; a worldwide school girls’ march; the presentation of 219 #ChibokGirls ambassadors, a commemoration lecture by Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, and a candle lit vigil.
Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala-Usman, who revealed the activities in a statement, added that in reflecting the global spread of the movement, #BBOG groups in several cities, many other partner groups, communities and individuals all over the world have been informed about the activities in honour of the girls.
They added: “It is soon to be one year and our #ChibokGirls are not back! We must all continue to lend our voices to call for their rescue. We find their continued captivity extremely unacceptable.
“Our abiding advocacy for their cause is specific in demanding that the Federal Government should give our girls justice that they deserve by immediately rescuing them.
“Therefore, wherever you may be around the world, we urge you to join us in declaring that our innocent #ChibokGirls are global citizens that the world must ensure are #NeverToBeForgotten.
“We cannot afford to move on without a positive closure on this monumental tragedy that befell young women who went to school to be educated. Our girls are crying to be rescued!”
The former Minister of Education and leader of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has said the group would not relent in its struggle to ensure the rescue of the Chibok girls, even with the change in government.
She said the group intended to write, to say that the rescue of the Chibok girls must be prioritised.
Dr. Ezekwesili said they would not relent until the Chibok girls were rescued.
She added that they would ensure that during the transition, politicians prioritised the rescue of the girls.
Her words: “Anybody thinking that there is a new administration, therefore we are going to be quiet, will be disappointed because we will not relent until our daughters are brought back alive.
“We are not relenting, we will not retreat and we will not surrender until our girls are rescued. We intend to write that with the transition government being put in place, our daughters must be given priority so that they can return before the handover date of May 29.
“During the transition, we want to see the efforts of our politicians to ensure that the rescue of our daughters is given priority.
“To mark the one year anniversary of the abduction of our girls, the advocacy will hold a seminar. We will invite President Goodluck Jonathan and President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.
SIR: By the 10th of March 2015, it was precisely 330 days, since the abduction of over 200 girls from a government secondary school in Chibok town, Borno state. It is sad that up till now, the government has not provided any genuine or tangible information about the whereabouts of the girls-11 months after their abduction. It is most unfortunate that despite global intelligence partnership, the girls’ whereabouts remain a mystery, thereby foreclosing any thought of getting them free soonest by this inept government.
With over eight billion dollars reportedly spent on security in the past four years, the federal government ought to have rescued these Chibok girls and all other Nigerians in terrorists’ bondage. That will, at least, to a reasonable extent justify those billions spent in the name of security. Until early this month, the more the government is spending more money on security, the more unsecured Nigerians and Nigeria become. There is the need for budget to be secured first, from corruption, before we can achieve any meaningful national security.
It is at the apogee of sadness and regrets that Nigerians have virtually been compelled to temporarily forget the Chibok girls, as if nothing of that magnitude has happened. Only Hadiza Bala and Oby Ezekwesili remain the leading vanguard of this struggle to get the girls back to their parents. What a shame to a country professing to be the most populous in the African continent. There is God ooo!
Nigeria still unfortunately has more than 11 million out of school children. The government should wake up to its responsibilities and secure Nigerians and Nigeria. May Allah give us good leaders after this coming presidential election and; may the elections be free, fair and credible. Amen.
The National Publicity Director of Kibaku Area Development Association, an organization representing the entire Chibok community, Dr. Allen Mannaseh, has described as a scam the purported Thursday’s meeting between the Federal Government representatives and parents of the abducted schoolgirls.
Dr. Mannaseh, who was reacting to a press statement issued by Olawale Rasheed, the Special Adviser to the Minister of State Power, Barr. Mohammed Wakil, that a closed door meeting was held with some relations and parents of the schoolgirls, disassociated the Chibok parents from that arrangement, noting that the said meeting was merely a Peoples Democratic Party’s affairs.
He said the minister did not have the full representation of the Chibok people.
He said the Chibok people are very angry with the minister over his lack of concern for the community, which he represented at the National Assembly and as a minister.
According to the community spokesman, Wakil has not been in Chibok for ages, particularly since the adoption of the girls last year.
“There was no close door meeting with any of the Chibok girls parents in Maiduguri, that is one. Secondly, the Chibok people are very angry with Barr. Mohammed Wakil. For all that has been happening in Chibok, he has not been in the community for ages. He was a member representing Chibok/Damboa/Gwoza and a minority leader for that matter. He has not been to Chibok up till today He is being used by the Federal Government against our own wish. He has shown that he is not representing any of us, either as a member of House of Representative then or as a minister now,” he stated.
Troops have not carried out aerial bombardment of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s hideout because the sect is using the Chibok girls as shield, it was learnt yesterday.
Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, on Wednesday visited Chad to seek clarifications on some issues and map out plans with multi-national force on what a source described as the final onslaught against Boko Haram.
The military source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said Shekau and some members of his Shura Committee – the sect’s highest policy making body – had been shuttling between Sambisa Forest and strategic locations, such as Gwoza and Bama.
The Chadian President, Idris Deby said Shekau’s convoy was sighted in Dikwa on Tuesday.
But the military source explained that Shekau has a strong base in Gwoza with a special armoured tank.
The source said: “Troops have located what I may call Shekau’s bunker but they cannot strike because some of the Chibok girls are being used as shield by the leaders of Boko Haram.
“We want to do a clinical job with limited damage because the whole world is awaiting the safe return of the Chibok girls.
“ The ability of the troops to rescue some of the girls will earn more credit to the success of Nigerian military against the insurgents.
“We are also being extremely careful to avoid any military assault which may force Shekau to turn against the Chibok girls and other hostages in Boko Haram’s camps in the Northeast.
According to the source, intelligence report has indicated that recent bombings in Jos and other cities were borne out of anger against the military for reclaiming over 40 occupied territories and killing more than 300 insurgents.”
Air Marshal Badeh on Wednesday met with the Chadian military hierarchy.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “ The session was used to iron out alleged claims by Chadian military that Nigerian troops were frustrating its collaborating troops in the Northeast.
“At the meeting, the Chadian military denied issuing such statement. Instead, it restated its commitment to collaboration with Nigeria to rout out the insurgents from the Northeast and the sub-region.
“After ironing out the misgivings, the CDS and Chadian counterpart later mapped out plans with the multi-national force on the final onslaught against Boko Haram.
“We are likely to see enhanced synergy between Nigerian troops and their Chadian counterparts in the next few days.”
Representatives of Federal Government on Thursday met behind closed doors with parents and guardians of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from their hostel by Boko Haram fighters in April 2014.
A statement issued by Mr. Olawale Rasheed, the Special Adviser on Media to Minister of State for Power, said the meeting briefed relations and relatives of the abducted girls on government’s efforts to free the girls.
The statement added that President Goodluck Jonathan was represented at the meeting by the Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil , while the girls’ families were led by Mrs. Pindar Dauda with the youth leader of the Chibok whose name was not mentioned also in attendance.
The President’s representative told the parents that the federal government has devised comprehensive counter- insurgency strategies whose goals are – to reclaim the occupied territories, rescue the abducted persons, resettle the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and rehabilitate the insurgency ravaged communities.
“Mr. President is pursuing multi- faceted strategies which address the pains, anger and frustrations of victims. Our President directed me to tell you that his government is committed to doing everything possible for the safe return of your daughters.
“I am here to convey the sympathy of Mr. President and the entire Federal cabinet to you the parents and families as well as all other victims. As you are all aware, our military is having the upper hand in this sacred war. We believe by the grace of God that your children will return safely.
“Your presence here to listen to the message of Mr. President confirms your belief in the ongoing counter insurgency operations as a solution to our collective challenge.
“I assure you that not only will rescue operations be successful, the other three goals of reclaiming occupied territories, resettlement of IDPS and rebuilding of communities, will be pursued to a logical conclusion. This is a personal pledge of Mr. President which the entire administration is committed to,” the minister said.
Speaking on behalf of the families, Mrs. Dauda thanked the President for his concern and sympathy while praying for the success of the ongoing military operations.
“I appeal to President Jonathan not to relent. He should continue with the war on Boko Haram. He should get our children back for us safely. We are praying for him and the military,” she said.
SIR: It gladdens our hearts that the Nigerian military have bombarded locations and liberated some parts of the north-east including the Sambisa forest formerly in the hands of the dreaded Boko Haram. This is going by the information from the Defence Headquarters spokesperson, Major General Chris Olukolade. We have seen the Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, pose with our gallant military men when he visited one of the liberated towns. We have even seen pictures of bodies of some dead Boko Haram members and also recovered arms and ammunitions.
But painfully, what we have not been able to see and which would have gladdened our hearts the more, are any of the Chibok girls who are probably still in the enclave of the Boko Haram. With the nearly 300 girls believed to be in ‘Sambisa’ forest, we can only hope that they have not been caught in the crossfire. One wished that President Jonathan made out time to meet with some of the parents of the abducted girls when he visited our gallant solders to reassure them. Sadly, he did not.
One remembers that it took local and international outcries for the presidency to accept the fact that Boko Haram actually abducted the girls in the first place. When finally it came to terms with the reality, President Goodluck Jonathan repeatedly promised to bring back the girls alive. At a point he gave a time limit and ordered the military to get into action but the order did nothing to change the situation. And now, most probably to secure a political point in view of the pending elections, the President seems poised to accomplish within six weeks what he couldn’t do all these while.
Why the mad rush after things have gone awry? The current situation is best described in local parlance as medicine after death. Henceforth, the chant should be – Bring Back Our Girls Alive!
Philip Obaji Jr. is the founder of the 1 GAME Campaigns advocating basic primary education for the over 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. Obaji, who is also a Global Youth Ambassador, spoke to David Lawal on Boko Haram and it political undertone, Chibok girls and government’s role in education.
Kindly give a brief insight into your background?
I was born on August 8, 1985 in a town called Ogoja in Northern Cross River State. I am the founder of the 1 GAME Campaign, which promotes basic primary education for vulnerable kids in Nigeria. I am widely known for my activism for rights to education for Children, especially in Northeastern Nigeria. I’m a graduate of Marine Biology from the University of Calabar; a Global Youth Ambassador for United Nations critical education partner, A World at School; a member of International Network for Education in Emergencies; and a champion of Global Partnership for Education. Back home, I am an Executive Committee member of the Cross River State Football Association. I am soft spoken, a Roman Catholic and a man of peace. I believe in Nigeria and in every citizen of this country. And I want to play a role in making it a better place for all of us.
How long have you been into education advocacy?
I’ve been working for close to five (5) years now in education advocacy. It all started in 2010 when 1 GAME Campaign was founded.
What informed your decision to start education advocacy?
In 2009, I travelled to Ogoja where I was born. I had not visited the town since my family moved in 1988 when I was just three years old. I wanted to learn more about the place I first lived as a child.
I have had numerous conversations with my father about Ogoja, and he would often speak about its people, and how he missed them and their culture. Once arriving in Ogoja after a six-hour journey from Calabar, where I live, I was greeted by a group of young boys and girls at the bus stop, who rushed to me, begging for money.
The children were between six and fourteen years. When I asked them where they came from, they confessed that they were ‘Almajiris’ from Northern Nigeria.
They had followed a lorry transporting goods from Maiduguri in Borno State to Ogoja. They said they jumped into the lorry without knowing the driver and had no idea of where the vehicle was heading.
I was overwhelmed by the presence of so many out-of-school children and could not stop thinking about their plight and how to solve this crisis.
Thereafter I found 1 GAME Campaign aiming specifically at Almajiris helping them to enrol and complete their basic education. The name ‘1 GAME’ means that anyone involved in the campaign is asked to defeat violence, illiteracy and poverty – using education as a tool.
What is your disposition to the target on children across the world?
There is absolutely no justification for the target on children. Terrorists all over the world target children in order to strike fear and gain publicity.
Boko Haram for instance, gained global acclaim after the Chibok abductions. They got exactly what they were looking for. There are lots of similarities between Boko Haram which operates here in Nigeria, and the Taliban which operates in Pakistan.
While they both want to enforce full Sharia Law all over Nigeria and Pakistan respectively, they also want to ensure that there is no place for western education in the areas they operate.
But let’s not also forget that beyond these things, there is a political undertone to their existence.
About a year since the abduction of school girls from Chibok, what are the chances of seeing the return of these girls?
Honestly, no one is sure about the where about or wellbeing of the Chibok girls except their captors. There have been lots of rumours about them.
In fact, as we speak, there’s a video circulating around Maiduguri purportedly showing Boko Haram militants raping young girls and shooting those who refused to get laid.
Many people who have seen this video say the girls in the footage are the abducted Chibok girls, but I haven’t been able to get anyone to confirm if that’s true.
I can’t really say for sure if the Chibok girls are alive or dead or if they are safe where they are. Since there hasn’t been a word for some months from Boko Haram about the girls, no one can be sure about their wellbeing, and whether or not they’ll return.
Considering the present state of education in Nigeria, where do you think we got it wrong?
It started from the attitude of the government, and the trend is still continuing. The problem with Nigeria’s education has to do with poor planning, poor funding, and in some quarters, corruption. Take primary education, for instance, the Universal Basic Education Scheme was designed to provide compulsory, free education up to Junior Secondary levels, to be funded by both the Federal and State Governments. The Federal Government keeps 2 percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund into the scheme and allocates money to the states when the states contribute its matching amounts.
However, we’ve found out that most of the states never made their matching grants, denying themselves access to the funds; and in states where they had been given the grants, the education sector there is still pathetic. That tells you that these governments are not making education their priority.
The population of out-of-school children in Nigeria according to UNESCO is equal to the total population of the entire Czech Republic (10.5 million), who do you think is responsible for this?
The government has the biggest role to play in ensuring Education for All. In 2000, at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, 180 countries including Nigeria signed up to make the six goals of Education For All happen, committing to putting legal frameworks, policies and finance in place so that everyone, no matter what their circumstances, could have an education – one that is available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable.
The richest countries pledged to help make Education for All a reality by committing to principles of international cooperation towards those countries with fewer financial resources.
Commitment towards the right to education was also reflected in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000 with a deadline for achievement by 2015.
Out of the eight Millennium Development Goals, two focus on education. Both the EFA and MDG goals are all centred on what governments should do, and not what parents or children should do to create access to education.
But as much as the government has a huge role to play, we as citizens must encourage and drive our children to education. Teachers must inspire. Principals must lead. Parents must instil a thirst for learning. And students have got to do the work in school. And if we can all do this together, I assure you we will build great ideas and push this nation away from the stronghold of extremists.
What’s your advice to government on providing education for all?
The government must show more seriousness in achieving the goals of Education for All. Education is achievable if government mobilises the political will and available resources. The government must recognise that education is a universal human right; that it is the key to poverty alleviation and sustainable human development; and of course, education is its core responsibility. In doing so, it must ensure increased provision of quality early childhood education and care; the eradication of adult illiteracy and a second chance to learn for youth and adults who miss out on formal schooling; an end to child labour; democratic participation of, and accountability to, civil society, including teachers and their unions, in education decision-making at all levels; fair and regular salaries for teachers; properly equipped classrooms and a supply of quality textbooks; inclusive and non-discriminatory provision of services for all; the mobilization of political will and new resources in support of National Education plans to realize the EFA Goals, including adequate public expenditure of at least 6 percent of GNP. Without this in place, it would be difficult to achieve Education for All.
In doing so, it must ensure increased provision of quality early childhood education and care; the eradication of adult illiteracy and a second chance to learn for youth and adults who miss out on formal schooling; an end to child labour; democratic participation of, and accountability to, civil society, including teachers and their unions, in education decision-making at all levels; fair and regular salaries for teachers; properly equipped classrooms and a supply of quality textbooks; inclusive and non-discriminatory provision of services for all; the mobilization of political will and new resources in support of National Education plans to realize the EFA Goals, including adequate public expenditure of at least 6 percent of GNP. Without this in place, it would be difficult to achieve Education for All.
Two Chibok girls in captivity have lost their fathers, with one of them losing her father and two uncles.
The Chairman of the Chibok Community in Abuja, Hosea Tsambido, said their bodies were discovered after raids by Boko Haram insurgents, which left scores dead in Thlulaimakalama, Gatamularwa and Ntabang communities.
Tsambido said it was unfortunately that some of the girls might return and find out that their parents were dead.
He spoke yesterday in Abuja at a news conference organised by members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy, to mark the second week of their six weeks countdown.
Rather than the capture of Ibrahim Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist groups as allegedly ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Prince Gboyega Famodun, has said Nigerians want the military to rescue the Chibok girls who were abducted on April 14, 2014 by the dreaded Islamist sect.
The APC chieftain, who spoke at a programme tagged News Point, a personality interview organised by the Osun State Correspondent Chapel of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, said the military authorities must redouble its efforts to bring back alive the Chibok girls, wondering, “Why looking to capture Shekau alive, why not the Chibok girls.? We don’t need any notorious terrorist alive. They have told Nigerians many times that Shekau has been killed. So, why asking that he should be found alive.?”
While commending the military for their recent exploits in the war against insurgency in the North East region, Famodun, however, berated President Goodluck Jonathan for not rising up to the challenge on time, noting, “The president could not tackle insurgency for the past six years, now you want Shekau captured alive. Of what use is that to Nigerians?”
