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Tag: Chibok girls

  • ‘Abandoned girl not a Chibok schoolgirl’

    A teenage girl that was abandoned by her captors in Adamawa State nearly two weeks ago is not one of the schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram sect since April, the leader of the Chibok Elders’ Forum, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, has said.

    The girl was abandoned at Mararraban Mubi in Hong local government area of Adamawa and was feared to be one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

    The girl of about 20, was found after she was dumped at an unidentified location from where she trekked for three days to a village near Mararraban Mubi, where she was found by villagers and taken to a nearby police station.

    She was later moved to Abuja and kept in custody of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

    To ascertain her true identity, leaders of Chibok community in Abuja and the Vice Principal (Academics) of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, were brought to Abuja to identify the girl, who gave her name as Suzanna Ishaya.

    However, it has been established beyond reasonable doubt that the girl was not one of the abducted Chibok girls.

    Dr. Bitrus said, “We have confirmed that she is not from Chibok and is not one of the girls abducted in April, but the remaining story is with the security agencies because she is in their custody.”

    The Chibok leader also hinted that the girl might have been abducted from another location by Boko Haram and married off to one of their commanders.

     

  • ‘Jonathan has no excuse over Chibok girls’

    ‘Jonathan has no excuse over Chibok girls’

     Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya is the Secretary-General of the Lagos State Women’s Forum and former Secretary to Lagos State Government during Governor Babatunde Fashola’s first term.  Her father, the colourful Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, was a frontline politician in the First Republic as a chieftain of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC). In this interview with The Nation, she spoke on the politics of Lagos State, Chibok girls, her experience as a female politician and other contemporary issues in an interview with Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan.

    You are one of those who have been very outspoken on the issue of the kidnapped Chibok girls.  Days after their kidnap, the federal government says it is doing everything possible to get them released. What’s your take on this?

    Like I said few weeks back, this is a tough one for us as a nation. It has really exposed our weakness as a republic. How can these happen to us? It shows the value our leaders place on human lives. We are in a situation that we have never been before. It’s sad that 170 days after, our kidnapped schoolgirls are still not back. I’m feeling really disappointed and I’m sure that majority of Nigerians feel this same way I feel. The implication of this is that our nation is an aeroplane with no pilot and no attendant in sight and we don’t know where we are heading.

    There is no excuse for the government. We have no excuse as Nigerians. This shouldn’t happen to us I repeat. We are a brilliant and intelligent race. Our current state is a bad omen. Definitely, it is beyond imagination that this is happening in Nigeria. The government has no excuse for its shortcomings.

    But why do you think it is so difficult to get the girls out of captivity?

    Obviously, there is something missing in the present day Nigeria; a development that has sent a clear message to lay people like me about the security of this country. If we can’t fight to return the missing Chibok girls, what would we do if there was an external attack on this nation? God forbid! How will the people of Nigeria be defended? Should we all accept that we are on our own and we have nobody to defend us? This is not the Nigeria we grew up in. The country I knew as mine will not abandon innocent kids in the hands of marauders.

    When you pick up the newspapers today, the stories that stare you in the face are the horrified accounts of how people are being butchered; how innocent women and children are being kidnapped; how villages and towns are being razed. The number of deaths Nigeria recorded since insurgency keeps growing and the government appears helpless. This is not good enough. So sad! I bet this would not happen during the era of the first generation of Nigerian leaders. The names like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo and the likes, whose faces appear on the Nigerian currency, have earned great credit both home and abroad. That is why we still talk about them today.

    Are you saying the current leadership cannot measure up to what obtained in years gone past?

    We still have some good leaders around but with all due respect, one could feel the absence of those men of honour and integrity. There was something special about them. They exuded honour and integrity in all ramifications. Those who were opportuned to come in contact with them would attest to this. You felt something whenever they are around you.

    I remember when Tafawa Balewa spoke at the Commonwealth Conference in England; people commended Nigeria. People commended me as a Nigerian and I remember feeling very proud. They said to me, ‘I like the intonation of your Prime Minister.’ Truly, he had a golden voice and that made you feel proud. The way the then leaders carried themselves was quite unique and they were not after what they can acquire. They were motivated by the desire to serve the people. They had the interest of Nigeria at heart; a lot of them. Talk about Awolowo, talk about Azikiwe and you will be talking about great examples of leadership. These were not leaders that will abandon kids in the hands of scoundrels. I am a mother, I know how it feels. I can tell you I know what the mothers of those girls are feeling like now.

    According to you, as a child, you watched the electioneering campaign of the First Republic and even participated in some. What would you say are the difference between the electioneering of that era and what we have today?

    The electioneering campaigns of that era were something to be proud of as a young Nigerian. You cannot compare what we have now with what obtained in those days. The political campaigns we organise now lack class and decency. Then, it was about issues and colour.  Now, it’s not about issues, it’s the use of vulgar languages; throwing barbs and mud at one other. Murder and all other forms of violence are now part of electioneering in our country, all because they want to serve the people. The same people they kill and maim to get to power.

    Your group, the Lagos State Women Forum, as you said, was set up to encourage women to make their presence felt in politics beyond singing and dancing. How well have you fared with the initiative?

    We have done well. But more still remain to be done. We are not there yet. We are still being short-changed by you men. We made it known through protests that we are being short-changed, despite that we have a superior numerical strength over men in all political gatherings. Check out at meetings; at rallies, even at the polls. Aside these, we are active members of all the political parties. We get the men into offices. But we get the crumbs, just the crumbs afterwards. That is what we are kicking against. We want to help bridge the wide gap between women and our men folk in politics and other public endeavours. This is a deliberate attempt on our part to get our women actively involved in the mainstream of political activities, because politics, whether we like it or not, is an agency for change. Women are more into politics than men. So, we are seeking more recognition; more roles and more challenges in politics and governance. I believe we will get there soon.

    You once said Lagos has done well in promoting women in politics.

    Yes. Lagos State has not done too badly for women when it comes to appointment but more can still be done to address inequalities. We are more productive than the men. We are more passionate about achieving results for the party than the men. And by God’s grace, I see a woman winning governorship election in Lagos State very soon.

    So, you want a woman governor in 2015?

    Not necessarily in 2015, but if it is possible; why not? In Lagos, we have set a standard; what is important for now is that we want a young and vibrant person to become the governor of the state. And Fashola has set that pace. We want that to continue. Male or female; we want an equally effective governor to succeed Fashola.

    And personally, I am in support of the agitation of my people from Ikorodu to produce the next governor of the state. Ikorodu had been short-changed in terms of political office sharing and allocation in Lagos State. Ikorodu division should produce the next governor of the state in line with the tenets of equality and justice.

    We have supported others in the past to take their turns. Now, it is the turn of Ikorodu. And that is why we are soliciting the support of all other divisions in the state because as the saying goes, “one good turn, surely, deserves another.” That is as far as I see the Lagos 2015 governorship race.

    But perhaps, Nigeria needs a female president now to move farther, because, I think in most cases, women do their jobs well and they try to excel. And, when you find a woman in a position you know she is 20 times better than the man. Certainly, a woman can be the president of this great country and do the job well.

    Tell us about your late father, the colourful Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya.

    When I talk about my father, I largely want to talk about honour and integrity in politics. That is what I remember him for the most. He taught me to be honourable in public service at all times. At the end of the Second Republic, while other politicians went into hiding, he submitted himself for probe. Despite the trump-up charges of embezzlement levelled against him, he was not only exonerated, the military government handed back to him over half a million naira wrongly taken from him.

    My father was one of Zik’s closest associates. And they would put me on the campaign vehicle to sing and say the slogans of the NCNC. And once or twice, they would put me on the platform to sing at campaigns. My father kept me near himself. Whenever he wanted to have a meeting with his colleagues, he would call me to take a chair, get closer and listen. I used to get angry because I wanted to play or watch the TV. Of what use, I often asked myself then, was this information?

    I think all these were intentional by my father to groom me for politics. I think he recognised my flair for politics and had been sending me to represent him at political gatherings since I was 19, but I started full blown politics in 1977.

    Talking about you as a politician, you left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the then Action Congress now All Progressive Congress (APC). Any regrets?

    I have no regrets about joining my party. I have said it over and over again. It took time for me to change. I tried my best to stay in PDP. I had been part of the formation of that party, the PDP, through the likes of Chief Bode George and many others. But it was obvious I could no longer remain there. I was not wanted there and that was in PDP Lagos, not by the general body. Our views are not the same.

    In any case, this is the state that I belong to, I have no other state. I can claim I’m a Nigerian. I can claim any other state and even by association, claim the Eastern part of Nigeria. You know the relationship they have with my father and the great affection my father had for the Igbos. I also have great affection for that particular area but this is where I have my roots.

    And how would you describe life after office as SSG?

    Serving as the Secretary to the State Government in Lagos was a very dynamic experience for me.   I have been on board at the federal level and I have been an executive member of various committees but I have never really worked in government as a daily job.  I learnt a lot and I have become very versatile as a result. The job did not disturb my relationship with my friends and I always had people around me.   I didn’t get carried away with the position either.

    However, life after office is normal for me.   Not much has changed, except for the fact that I do not attend functions or parties. In any case, I have never been a party person. I would not call myself a socialite.  I only attend parties that I feel are very important.

  • ‘How to defeat Boko Haram, rescue Chibok girls’

    ‘How to defeat Boko Haram, rescue Chibok girls’

    As the military and Boko Haram insurgents battle for the control of some towns in the Northeastern states of Borno, Yobe  and Adamawa, a Lagos lawyer, Kunle Uthman, examines the sect’s origin and its activities. He gives tips on how to rescue the Chibok school girls abducted by the group last April. 

    •Continued from last week

    It is clear and obvious that we are once again back to the era of Youth Earnestly Yearn For Abacha.  The result of that woeful exercise has been properly chronicled by historians as the dark era of our nation’s political history and it is apposite that the present “Sovereign” avoid the pitfalls and the resultant effects of such irresponsible and appalling conduct. As a people we need to be better focused and realize that power is transient.  There an obligation to rule with the fear of God.

    Abimbola Adelagun in an article titled “Youths Earnestly Ask For Goodluck Jonathan, stated that in respect of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha’s failed civilian transfigurations, President Goodluck Jonathan is being endorsed by vainglorious organizations.  The new kid on the block is the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) that seek to sell the Goodluck Jonathan candidature to Nigerians.  They have collected 1.8 million signatures in the South West; 1.6 million in the South East and 4.15 million in the South South.  The irony of these beg-the-President-to-contest movements is that like all fly-by-night ideas, none has outlived its promoted candidate.  It is therefore a spurious waste of scare resources to engage in these charade of persuasion of collation of dubious signatures, endorsed tacitly and covertly by an high ranking official as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, whose posture in receiving these signatures is a  clear testimony of a lazy public official, whose pre-occupation is to vacate his office and engage in meaningless activities that debase the institution of government, moreso in a country in a semi State of warfare.

    Chinua Achebe in analysing the prediction of the American government that Nigeria would be a failed state by 2015, put it in proper perspective when he defined a failed State as one that is unable to perform its duties on several levels; when violence cascades into an all-out internal war, when standards of living massively deteriorate, when the infrastructure of ordinary life decays, and when the greed of rulers overwhelms their responsibilities to better their people and their surroundings.

    Experts say many Northern Nigerians view the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, as illegitimate, arguing that he ignored an informal power rotation agreement that should have kept a muslim as President. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a muslim, died in 2010, two years into his four year tenure and Jonathan assumed office to complete the uncompleted term, he being the Vice President at that time.  He, Goodluck Jonathan has further contested and won an election for four years, which would be completed in 2015.  If Jonathan wins the Presidential election in 2015, or if there are no elections in 2015 because of social unrest in Northern-Nigeria, political tensions in Nigeria will increase.  So writes Campbell in his book ‘Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink’.  He further submitted that the “formal politics” of Northern Nigeria are “overwhelmingly dominated by muslim elites, who have, like their counterpart across the country, benefited from oil wealth at the expenses of regional development.  He says that the central purpose of the Nigerian State is to divide up the country’s oil wealth among elites, making Nigeria’s politics a “zero-sum game”.

    Is Nigeria a failed or failing State?  Is it not obligatory for our leaders, or the Sovereign to exercise the enormous powers entrusted in him by the constitution and the several legislations and can the present crop of political leaders guarantee the safety of lives and properties of the citizenry or are we as a people doomed to perdition because of bad leadership? Will the political gerrymandering and obsession by our leaders to perpetuate themselves in power blindfold them from seeing the urgency to solve the insurgency in the north and to secure the timeous release of the Chibok Girls from captivity and return them to their families?

    It is gratifying to note that Austin Alegeh (SAN), the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in his inaugural acceptance speech identified the problem of insecurity & Boko Haram insurgency as some of the problems bedeviling the Nigerian nation and unresolved by the Sovereign and his security apparatus.  The country needs a very dynamic and focus Bar Association leadership.  Lawyers by their calling are oblige to safeguard democratic institutions and the constitution and they have eminently discharged this responsibility in the past. We must be alive to our responsibilities and in unspeakable terms ensure that our leaders appreciate that ultimate power belongs to the people.  Our leaders, both elected and imposed are trustees of these enormous powers.  There is a social contract between them and us to ensure good governance and security of our lives and properties.  The era of profligate conversion of the resources of the state into personal wealth is the epitome of bad leadership and we have, like a cursed nation been unfortunate to be led at almost all level of governance by people who are not God fearing and who have continuously determined our fortunes and social and economic future within the context of a cabal.

    The limit of Sovereign power is concisely stated St. Thomas Aguinas (1225-74) who postulated that by his ‘oath of his coronation’ a king was supposed to have made a pact with his people, to promote a happy and virtuous life, and if he failed to fulfill his implied pact with his people he ceased to deserve that the pact be kept by the latter.

    The modern day President and Commander-in-Chief is that Sovereign above alluded to, who assumes this role upon taking his oath of office in accordance with the constitution.  Therefore, it is not the numbers of signatures gathered foolhardily that ingratiates the Sovereign in the minds of the people or the annals of history, but how he is able to provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Democracy as a system of government is where the people exercise their governing power through representatives periodically elected by them.  A State is therefore a democracy, if it provides institutions for the expression and in the last analysis, the supremacy of the popular will on the basic questions of social direction and policy, Nigerian as a geographical configuration  has a population of more than 170m people, and it is obligatory that our leaders at all levels of governance allow their performances to determine their eligibility for re-election and not through a dubious collection or collation of signatures when there are National emergencies that portend dangers.

    What do our leaders envision for our country and its people?  Let us take a clue from South Africa and the emergence of the iconic Nelson Mandela, a lawyer and statesman, our salvation at these times resides in a vocal, vibrant and critical NBA and populace to set the agenda for good governance.

    The government should continue to apply force so as to keep the Boko Haram Terrorist Group under pressure, on the run and on the defensive.  This should be followed by tracing sources of their funding and identifying sponsors. Though military and police pressure can drive terrorism into extinction, political problems could also require political solution.  The State should in open trial prosecute and humiliate terrorists and secure their due prosecution and imprisonment to serve as a detterence to others as a haven where there is no hiding place.  Enabling laws should be enacted and statutory provisions further strengthened to ensure expeditious prosecution and a deviation from the slow and snail pace of ordinary prosecution in regular courts.

    The amnesty solution applied in the Nigeria Delta region should be considered to resolve the menace of Boko Haram, only if the leaders would recent, lay down their arms, and come out to meet the government by surrender, because amnesty can only be given to identifiable persons.  Dr. David Oladimeji Alao and Oluwafisayo Atere in their publication titled ‘Boko Haram Insurgence in Nigeria: The Challenges and Lessons’, an article in the Singaporean Journal of Business Economics, And Management Studies, stated that the terrorists acts of Boko Haram since 2009 have created a state of palpable fear in Nigeria and beyond, while the helpless posture of government is worrisome.  It was found that insurgence was a manifestation of frustration on account of national political, religious and economic systems while the institutional mechanism adopted in managing the crisis was defective.  They wrote that the challenges are not insurmountable but a reflection of a weak State.

    The learned authors’ recommends the review of the Federal Government’s approach to handling political or other related crisis as peace approach is more successful than security approach.  The use of force with the intent of eliminating or suppressing opponents is like operating under security approach that often ends up in generating greater violence.  Peace approach often wants to see the opponents as potential friends if the situation is carefully handled.

    The government should involve the cross section of Northern Emirs and prominent individuals in a genuine dialogue with the leaders of the group.  The traditional rulers and local notables in each local government within the nation must be effectively accommodated into the local policing provided they were not imposed by government on helpless communities.  In addition, the government must be tolerant of opposing views as the security of the Nation is the collective responsibility of all of us, its citizens irrespective of political, religious or ethnic affiliation.  I totally agree with Joseph Siegle in his article ‘Boko Haram and the Isolation of Northern Nigeria: Regional and International Politics’ when he stated that the challenges posed by Boko Haram are emblematic of an emerging security paradigm in Africa today where local grievances are fused with international ideology, funding, and technology.  Effectively addressing the multi-layers of this threat will require the creative engagement of Nigeria’s neighbours and international partners.

    It is, therefore, necessary that our governments at all levels should treat with utmost priority their obligations to provide security of lives and properties within all the segments of the Nigerian Nation.  All efforts should be properly co-ordinated to rescue the innocent adolescent girls kidnapped in Chibok and our politicians and political parties should forthwith stop this drama of multiple accusations, unsupported by any empirical proof that certain high ranking government officials are sponsors of the insurgency in the Northern part of Nigeria, killing and maiming of innocent citizens including foreigners.  If there is any proof of funding of terrorism within the Nigerian Nation, relevant information should be supplied to the security agencies who should timeously deal with the culprits. Our Nation is at the brink of a precipice and we all, collectively as a people rescue it for the immediate benefit of ourselves and to secure the future of our children yet unborn.

    Our President and the security apparatus of State should decisively bring the Boko Haram menace to an end, as was done in the Niger Delta, where security of lives and properties has been restored after several years of kidnapping, vandalization of properties, destroying of oil-wells and capital flight within that region.  International assistance should be sought and obtained from other nations of the world who have been able to bring terrorism to an end.  The time to act is now.

     

    •Concluded

  • APC: Jonathan playing politics with Chibok girls

    APC: Jonathan playing politics with Chibok girls

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Federal Government of seeking to negotiate the timing of the release of the Chibok girls to create a public relations boost, rather than out of a genuine concern for the girls. They are in their sixth months in captivity.

    In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the clearest evidence of the government’s manipulation of the girls’ release came during President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

    “Apparently assured, somehow that the girls were about to be released, the administration set up an elaborate publicity event in New York, rented the necessary crowd and booked back-to-back interviews with the international media to enable the President luxuriate in the girls’ release. This event was billed for the five-star Pierre Hotel in Manhattan, close to the UN headquarters.

    “Nigerians will remember that on September 23, the military announced, on Twitter, the imminent release of the girls, only to retract the statement shortly after. In the intervening period, thousands of ‘supporters’ of the President gathered at the Pierre Hotel to welcome the President after the release of the girls, while media interviews were booked for him.

    “Such an occasion required prior organisation and knowledge by the government and attendees of the timing of any release of the girls. This whole episode was timed to also coincide with President Jonathan’s speech to the UN General Assembly the next day – September 24th – and to secure maximum advantage for the government. Somehow, the whole process collapsed like a pack of cards, to the chagrin of those seeking to exploit the innocent girls for political advantage,” it said.

    The APC condemned the politicisation of the plight of the Chibok girls, saying since the incompetence of the Jonathan administration led to the abduction of the girls in the first instance, it must not seek to make political capital out of their release.

    “What should be paramount is securing the release of the girls as soon as possible, not securing their release to fit with a schedule that benefits President Jonathan politically. For the girls, their parents and indeed all Nigerians, this abduction saga has been a nightmare. It is time for it to end,” the party said.

    It said the same Jonathan administration that rebuffed appeals from well-meaning Nigerians to negotiate the release of the girls in their early days in captivity, had suddenly swung into “feverish action”, sending its cronies to negotiate with the abductors and even expressing the readiness to swap the Boko Haram commanders for the girls.

    “We believe the government should do whatever it takes to secure the release of the girls. We believe nothing is too much to do to get the girls back home safely and bring relief to their parents and families. But we suspect government’s sudden effort, which is aimed at giving a boost to President Jonathan’s candidacy for next year’s presidential election.

    “This is most unconscionable, most exploitative and blatantly shameless. It confirms what we have been saying all along that the Jonathan administration knows more about the Boko Haram insurgency than it has admitted, and that the administration is exploiting the insurgency for the President’s re-election. Decent Nigerians are scandalised at this exploitative and deceitful behaviour of their government, and it must stop forthwith,” APC said.

  • Boko Haram: Australian negotiator promises to name big sponsors

    Boko Haram: Australian negotiator promises to name big sponsors

    The Australian  priest who tried to negotiate the release of the over 200 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram,says he will  in due course   name ‘bigger sponsors’ of  the sect.

    Dr.StephenDavis who has already named former governor of Borno state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, and former chief of army staff, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, as backers of the sect told the on-line publication ,The Cable,that the sponsors “epitomise all that the Boko Haram fighters are seeking to eliminate from Nigeria.”

    He dismissed insinuation that  Boko Haram commanders named the All Progressives Congress (APC)   as their sponsor.

    “ I have been in close contact with the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS)  and Boko Haram over several years. In that time, I have never heard any political party mentioned by any Boko Haram leader as funding or being associated with Boko Haram,” he said.

    “The JAS leaders and Boko Haram commanders have only mentioned individuals like former Governor Sheriff. I heard Sheriff was APC and now PDP but his political party is irrelevant to me. I have never mentioned political parties in my discussions with the JAS and Boko Haram. The names of individual sponsors were given by Boko Haram leaders, not their political party association.”

    He added: “Former governor Sheriff was specifically mentioned many times. For example, Sheriff was mentioned as sponsoring trips for the boys to go for the Lesser Hajj. There the boys are “reorientated”. “In effect they are recruited to Boko Haram. When they return to Nigeria the recruits are then taken off for further reorientation by which they mean teaching and for training. Some of the training took place in Mali by Tuareg leaders but now more training is conducted locally.”

    On the true identity of the ‘Abubakar Shekau” claimed to have been killed last week by the military,Davies said: “I have heard  so many senior commanders tell me that Shekau is dead. It was several weeks after that before a Shekau video appeared on YouTube.

    “ When I viewed that video with JAS leaders they immediately said, ‘That boy,we have used him before.’ They were totally dismissive of any claim that Shekau was still alive. They referred to the person in the video as the “fake Shekau”.

    “Some months later one of the senior commanders told me the name of the fake Shekau was Abdul Mutallif. The commander who named him was the one who wrote the script that the fake Shekau reads from in the videos.

    “ But I have heard they have used more than one fake Shekau. In July this year I was told the fake Shekau is Isa Damasaka. Earlier in June they referred to him as Bashir. We had been in communication with him over the release of the Chibok girls. Isa Damasaka is one of the names the military has released when identifying the man killed at Kondunga last week. He has also been identified as Bashir Mohammed so I am confident this man is indeed the fake Shekau.

  • One more Chibok girl abandoned by abductors

    Another Chibok girl has been abandoned by Boko Haram close to the village of Kwarihi near Biu in Borno State.
    The girl who is said to look mentally unstable was reportedly thrown out of a Volkswagen golf into a bush where she wandered for two days before been seen.
    She told the villagers that her name was Susanna Ishaya but they are not sure if its truly her name because of her state of mind. One the missing girls is named Susanna but not Ishaya.
    Chairman,  Chibok community in Abuja Hosea Tsambido said the girl  has been handed over to one of the Chibok parents who have taken her to the hospital and she will be properly questioned later and her parents found.
    Tsambido spoke about the girl  in Abuja  during the usual gathering of members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocay,  who have been protesting the abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School,  Chibok.
     ” One of the girls was ferried in a Volkswagen golf and thrown into the bush about two days ago and she wandered into the village of Kwarihi, near Mubi.
    “From there they called one of the parents to take care of her out there in Kwarihi and they are going to take her to Yola.
    “When she was asked, the name that she gave was Susanna Ishaya but right now we are not sure if it is her real name until she is really treated because the people that saw her said that she is both mentally and physically sick and has been taken to the hospital.
    “We believe that she was probably abandoned by Boko Haram because of her health.”
    Tsambido and some other members of the advocacy blamed the Borno State government for not trying to secure the over 20 girls that were being transported to Kaduna to continue their education.
    They said that they do  not understand why the state government decided to take the girls to school in a state like Kaduna which is equally not safe and is also suffering the brunt of insurgency.
    “The journey from Chibok to Biu alone is a journey that now takes two days because of the level of insurgency, so sending the girls on such a journey with only one government official and no security protection only shows their level of carelessness.
    “The girls will not  be able to fully concentrate in their new school since Kaduna itself is not spared from insurgency.”
  • Shortlived excitement over Chibok girls’ ‘release’

    Shortlived excitement over Chibok girls’ ‘release’

    There was excitement in the land yesterday when the news broke that the abducted Chibok schoolgirls had been released by Boko Haram.

    But it all turned out to be a hoax.

    The girls seen by Maiduguri residents were the 30, who had earlier escaped from captivity. They were being taken by buses to school in Kaduna, it emerged later.

    The Defence Headquarters said yesterday that the girls had not been released.

    The Director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said: “The story circulating in respect of the release of the Chibok girls is not true.

    “The buses that drove into the barracks were conveying other individuals.”

    The Director of Publicity, Kibaku Area Development Association, Dr. Manasseh Allen, said: “I have called them back at home and so far, I have not been able to confirm the release of any of the girls as far as I am concerned.

    “ Yesterday, there was an intersection in Biu, some Chibok girls were found in Biu in the company of a man.

    “They were intercepted by the civilian JTF and military in Biu. When they were stopped, he informed them that he had been instructed by the Borno State government to bring the girls  to Maiduguri for the commencement of their education.

    “The authorities wanted to be sure that the orders had actually come from the state government,  so some calls were made and it was confirmed that he had actually been instructed to bring them so that they can begin school.

    “They were part of the girls that escaped. As far as I am concerned, no new girl has been released by the Boko Haram or the government.

    “We are still waiting for them to bring back our girls and not for them to continue to dash our hopes.”

  • Update: Chibok girls not released- DHQ

    Update: Chibok girls not released- DHQ

    The Defence Headquarters has denied speculations that the abducted Chibok girls have been released.
    The Spokesman, General Chris Olukolade told The Nation that the report was not true.
    He however told the BBC that some girls who are not Chibok girls are now in safe custody in the military barracks in Maiduguri.
    The Defence headquarters on Tuesday night tweeted on its tweeter handle @DefenceinfoNG  ” The Story circulating in respect of release of the girls is untrue. Buses drove into the barracks but conveyed other individuals.”
  • Rumour of rescue of Chibok girls strong- Ezekwesili

    Rumour of rescue of Chibok girls strong- Ezekwesili

    Leader of the Bringbackourgirls campaign,Oby Ezekwesili, has confirmed speculations of the rescue of some of the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The report however turned out to be false on Tuesday evening.

    In a tweet earlier on  Tuesday on her Twitter  handle @obyezeks to mark Day 162 days of the girls’ abduction, she wrote,” Yes, the rumor of their rescue is strong…. WE wait with earnest HOPE & expectation for EVIDENCE. What JOY!!!”

    “My heart is POUNDING in excited anxiety as WE wait. Lord, please let not our HOPE be dashed. Let this be THE DAY!

    “Have said it would be a DAY of UNSPEAKABLE JOY when the agony of our 219 Daughters and their parents shall end.

    cannot confirm because they also don’t know and are hearing strong rumors like EVERYONE OF US. Waiting is HARD. Too HARD”

    At about 7.20 Ezekwesili tweeted ” Once again, our HOPE is dashed. The says rumor not true that OUR were rescued. It is HEART BREAKING. Speechless.”

     

  • ‘How to defeat Boko Haram, rescue Chibok girls’

    hose who become terrorists are often the socially alienated persons who dropped out of society or are condemned as societal misfits, almajirins, area boys, hoodlums, the unemployed, those with spartan education especially youths who place no premium on their lives.  Terrorist groups also brainwash their recruits and it is apparent that this method is the one adopted by Boko Haram to recruit its adherents.

    In his article, earlier referenced Mike Okemi submitted that Nigerians must desist from justifying the activities of the Boko Haram because no matter and whatever the measure put in place we would not get the best result and fast enough unless the society as a whole reject terrorism without any justification.  There is also a need for international collaboration between Nigeria and other countries faced with terrorism to fight it just as there has been urgent need for international effort to solve the problems.  In the tackling of terrorism, information sharing, intelligence and lessons learnt.

    On August 29th, 2014, Mr. Austin Alegeh SAN assumed office as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association having convincingly won election to that office.  In his acceptance speech, he stated unequivocally his concern for the appalling security of the nation and emphasised the urgent need to locate and free the more than 250 SSS 3 students abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Borno State.  The implication of this abduction and the inability of the security network of the state to rescue these girls from captivity has more than anything else, captured the ‘importance’ of our array of security forces.  Foreign collaborators have retreated back to their comfort zone, seeing the northern terrain and being confronted with the reality that the problem can only be resolved by our leadership who have commingled their inordinate desire to perpetuate themselves in power and have unwittingly created a Frankenstein, which even them cannot control.  In absolute frustration, the President of the Federal Republic admitted that some of these insurgents have indeed infiltrated his government and the military, making it absolutely difficult for the government of the day to track down, arrest, prosecute and incarcerate the criminals.

    Having found ourselves in this political quagmire, the mesh and this spider’s web, where there appears to be no escape, our leaders MUST consider all options to resolve this political logjam, and secure the future of our children in order to prove in reality competence, capabilities and justifications of our social contract with them.

    In the circumstances, the security situation in the country requires urgent attention, it has become apparent that the continued survival of Nigeria as a corporate entity would be premised on how quickly the insurgency in the North is brought to an end, the Chibok Girls in captivity are released and normalcy restored in the country.  It is, therefore, extremely offensive that inspite of the ill-fortunes this state of affairs portends, our leadership at the Federal level, the political party in power and cronies of the sovereign-in-power are dissipating their energies in the comedy-of-errors by organizing political rallies and social funfare and questionable documentation of signature seemingly persuading the President and Commander-in-Chief to declare his intention to contest the 2015 Presidential elections.

    These campaigns reveal how obsessed with power the present administration is and its unwillingness to await an electorate scorecard before engaging in spurious filtration and wastage of scare resources of state.  We all need to be circumspect and guard our sovereign rights which reside in us as a people, by virtue of the doctrine of social contract, which states in unequivocal terms that power belongs to the people.

    The United State Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman at the Summit hosted by French President Francois Hollande in Paris stated that the US was committed to supporting the Nigerian government in ensuring that the Girls abducted in Chibok are brought back alive.  According to her, the abducted school girls have become “the girls of the world, not just of Nigeria”.  He added that all efforts are being put in place to ensure that the West Africa sub-region was not turned to a breeding ground for terror. Insisting that the American people “are not putting ‘boots on the ground’ in Nigeria for the girls’ rescue, Sherman noted that only intelligence assistance would be provided.

    Our nascent democracy is piloted on the fact that the people of this country are oblige to monitor the activities of the state to ensure that the government as typified by the executive act for all intent and purposes in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic and all other ancillary provisions that ensure good governance, security of lives and property and an enabling environment for self fulfillment.

    The State according to Aristotle exists for the exercise of the qualities which make men good husbands, fathers and heads of households, good soldiers and citizens, good men of science and philosophers.  When the State by its education and laws, written and unwritten, succeeds in evoking and maintaining in vigorous activity a life rich in noble aims and deeds, then and not until then has it fully fulfilled the end for which it exists.

    Contributing to the discourse, Herbert Spencer’s views the state as nothing but a natural institution preventing one man from infringing the rights of another. It is a joint-stock protection company for mutual assurance.  Harold Laski sums it up in what appears to be a modern view in “A Grammar of Politics”, where he submitted that “the state is an organization to enable the mass of men to realize social good on the largest possible scale.  It exists to enable men, at least potentially, to realize the best in themselves”.  These theories of political science was further developed by  Appadorai who pointed that men obey the State because they stand to gain by doing so.  They are conscious that the State has a rational purpose; that purpose is the promotion of social good on the largest possible scale; the achievement of that purpose demands their willing co-operation and obedience to laws.  It is the duty of the State to recognise the citizens rights and give them increasing substance. However, when there is a clear evidence that, over a reasonable period, the State is not doing its duty – in order words, when its actions are not in accordance with its purpose – the individual has the right to ask himself why he should continue to render obedience.  There is a moral right to resist a totalitarian government whose thrust of governance is suspect or a political party of power jobbers, devoid of any decipherable policies to better the lives of their people whose standard of living is abysmally poor.

    The word ‘Sovereignty’ is derived from the Latin word ‘superanus’, which means ‘supreme’.  In this context, Sovereignty may be defined as the power of the State to make laws and enforce the laws with all the coercive powers it cares to employ.  The Sovereign in a modern State such as the Federal Republic of Nigeria can be located in the Executive President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.  The enormous power of this office is akin to that of the medieval king who can do no wrong. The fortunes or misfortunes of the people would be determined by the necessary Sovereigns understanding of the dynamics of power and his perception of what end is the purpose for which he was elected.  If the aim is simply for political power of perpetuation in office, the citizens of that State would suffer stagnation and bad governance.

    The Federal Republic of Nigeria has had a turbulent political history from the hoisting of the Union Jack in 1914, the amalgamation, the Republics, military rule and interregnum, civil war and epileptic democratic governance.  All these ills and benefits have resulted in citizens whose system of governance can best be described as a militrocracy, because our attitude of life is semi-militarized and we do not recognize the human rights contain explicitly in Chapter IV of our Constitution.

    There is empirical proof and judicial decisions both local and international with our political class have pilfered the resources of the State, establish institutions to secure their ill-gotten wealth and are more often than not, celebrated by a population whose standard of living is abysmally poor.  Our leaders have consistently failed to establish institutions, enact policies, provide infrastructural upgrades, create employment, provide health care facilities, build houses or provide good governance worthy of celebration by the citizenry.  The benefits of our oil wealth and natural mineral resources are stocked in Swiss bank accounts by irresponsible gangs of thieves, that had either forced themselves in the corridors of power through the barrels of the gun or rigged elections or we have chosen, to further impoverish us.  The resultant effect is consecutive bad governance and social insecurity because of an unproductive populace, not engaged in meaningful productive enterprise, not for lack of desired but because the people to whom power was entrusted have no altruistic intention of using if for the benefit of the people.