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Tag: Chibok

  • Fed Govt, Boko Haram negotiation on course

    •Senators contribute N20m for IDPs

    The Federal Government yesterday maintained that its negotiation with the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to secure the release of over 200 secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, is still on going.

    Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke stated this at the State House at the end of over two hours closed-door security meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said the security chiefs briefed the President on how far they had gone on the ceasefire agreement.

    Others at the meeting included Vice President Namadi Sambo, Service Chiefs, Acting Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba, Director General Department of Security Service, Ita Ekpeyong and National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki.

    The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, declined comments on the outcome of the meeting.

    Abba, however, said  30 police officers were still missing  after Boko Haram’s attack on the Police Mobile Force (PMF), Gwoza Training camp in Borno State.

    Senatorsyesterday resolved to contribute N20million to support Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), especially those in the Northeast and other crises-prone areas.

    The Senate also urged the Federal Government to seek the assistance of international refugee agencies to effectively care for the victims.

    It called on the Federal, states and local governments to redouble efforts at providing relief materials and basic necessities of life to the affected persons.

    These resolutions followed a motion of urgent national importance moved by Deputy Senate Leader Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) on the plight of the IDPs in the Northeast.

    Ningi decried the pitiable condition of displaced persons.

    He warned that insurgency is a circle that is capable of revolving round the country if not checked.

    According to him, the essence of the  motion was to call attention of the international community and the various tiers government to the inhuman situation of the displaced people in the Northeast.

    Ningi added that the people of Adamawa, Yobe  and Borno states are finding it almost impossible to live as a result of Boko Haram attacks.

    He said: “As I speak to you, we have over two million  internally displaced persons from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.”

    The IDPs are in camps  spread across Bauchi, Jigawa, Benue and Taraba states and also outside Nigeria – in Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

    Ningi said: “But the most painful aspect of this  crisis is the lack of attention by the international community to this particular unfortunate human tragedy.

    “We have seen how the international community has performed excellently in other climes. We have seen the international community playing greater roles in Afghanistan; we have seen them in Pakistan, we have seen them in Yemen; we have seen them in Somalia; we have seen them in Syria and we have been seeing them in Palestine and Iraq.

    “But the issue of Nigeria defies any logic. We have been left as if we are not a party to this international convention. I know there is political tension but this is about life, life of people who have elected all of us to come and do what we are doing on their behalf.

    “I have mentioned it before and I will mention it  again that for us in the Northeast, election and politicking are of secondary importance.

    “What is important for us is just to secure and protect the lives of our citizens. This is very primary and this is why we are raising this issue for the attention of the government – the state, federal and the international community.

    “The citizens of the Northeast have found themselves in this situation and there is nowhere for them to go.

    “They were able to escape the domination of Boko Haram in these areas that have been taken over and where they escaped to, people are not paying adequate attention to their survival.

    “The second most important town in Borno, being Bama, is still in the hands of Boko Haram. The fifth most important town, being Gwoza, is still in the hands of Boko Haram and people will choose to do something in this country as if the lives of other people are not important because of the belief that ‘my brother is not the one involved’ but I must tell you that it is a circle”.

    Senate President David Mark urged the various levels of government to worry about internally displaced persons, saying they are integral part of exigencies to be met in a war situation.

    Mark said: “We are in a war situation and in every war situation, one of the key areas that you must worry about is refugees. It is not just to fight the war and fight the various battles but you must also worry about refugees.

    “It is an integral part of every plan that you make when you go to battle or when you go to war. The situation with Boko Haram, we have all agreed, is no more an internal crisis but a full-scale war and we shouldn’t leave out any aspect of the planning.

    “We have the National Commission for Refugees. I was just looking through the functions now and one of the functions is to look after displaced persons from any war situation.

    “We also have National Commission for Rehabilitation, which has almost the same functions. That these two commissions are not working sufficiently or well enough for us to get out of where we are now is what baffles me and I simply can’t understand where the problem is.

    “But, having, said that, the United Nations Commission for Refugees is a United Nation agency  that  is mandated to lead and coordinate an international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.

    “My personal advice is that the Federal Government should  take the issue of refugees very seriously; the same way in which they want to prosecute the war against Boko Haram should be the same zeal with which they should resettle and rehabilitate all those who are displaced.

    “The Northeast is not the only place; anywhere that we have crisis now, there are displaced persons in this country. I have displaced persons in Benue because of the crisis that we found in Benue over a period of time.

    “So, it is a holistic approach that the two agencies involved,  which are our own agencies, must adopt to look after them.”

    Other lawmakers described the situation as “unfortunate” and called on states and the Federal Government to intensify efforts towards curbing insurgents.

    Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba said Boko Haram and the predicament of displaced persons had placed the country between the devil and the deep blue sea.

    He regretted that while Boko Haram members were harassing the people, the consequences, which include large number of internally displaced persons is putting the nation’s economy at risk.

    He, therefore, urged both the government and international agencies to act as a matter or urgency.

    Senator Solomon Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom North East) also called on the Federal Government to consider taking care of soldiers and caring for victims as part of its obligation when fighting insurgency.

    He also suggested the establishment of camps in other parts of the country as a way of bringing everybody in terms with the reality on ground and instill the spirit of being our brothers’ keepers in Nigerians.

    He suggested that Senators should contribute financially to alleviate the plight of the IDPs.

    Senator Ahmed Zana (Borno Central) said part of his house was being used as a camp by over 1000 IDPs.

    He expressed the need for relief materials, stressing that there were no markets any longer in most affected villages where people could buy food.

    While supporting the need for camps in the Northeast, Senator Nenadi Usman (Kaduna South), said such efforts should be duplicated in every part of the country where people are displaced either due to violence or natural disaster.

    Senator Andy Uba, however, called for personal sacrifice by lawmakers as a way of leading by example.

    The Senate yesterday adjourned plenary till November 4.

  • ‘Our Girls’; General Gowon @80; Lagos Ibadan; BBOG; Trust Boko Haram? End Fulani War        

    ‘Our Girls’; General Gowon @80; Lagos Ibadan; BBOG; Trust Boko Haram? End Fulani War        

    Our Girls’ kidnapped from Chibok at night during exams and missing since April 15, six-plus months, are on the brink of or may even have mostly been released today.

    We celebrate humane longevity with General Yakubu Gowon @ 80, the Officer and Gentleman leader of Nigeria. His was not that of his successors like Buhari or Abacha brutality or Babangida ‘Missing oil wind fall money’ settlement corruption. His administration, unfortunately, accommodated the first generation of get-rich-quick militarism which got worse dragging Nigeria into the quagmire of corruption and 4,000Mw instead of 170,000Mw it faces now.

    The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is still rubbishing our lives. Why so much pain for us to gain a smooth road – a human right even during reconstruction?

    This article was submitted on Monday, after the Boko Haram ceasefire but before any release. Sadly, there are new Boko Haram attacks. The release, if it comes, is, thanks to the combined worldwide pressure on both government and the Boko Haram. A major pressure came from a tenacious red ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ campaign. This was mismanaged by a government myopic policy which alienated the citizenry by demonising the BBOG as ‘opposition politics’.

    In addition, there was at last military pressure on Boko Haram from a re-equipped, motivated armed forces restricting the Boko Haram. Boko Haram was supposedly in a militarily weakened position and forced to the negotiation table by countries surrounding Boko Haram hideouts. With no trans-border retreat options and an aggressive Cameroonian campaign preventing reinforcements, negotiations were inevitable as even Boko Haram people no wan die! But feel sympathy for the honest Nigerians negotiating with such blood-thirsty cruel people. Under that same negotiating table, there is the smell of death and an ocean of blood and misery from 10,000 murdered Nigerians and millions of displaced refugees. That is 10,000 people with five litres each or 50,000 litres of blood shed for nothing- just a negotiation?

    Since the capture of ‘Our Girls’, this column began every article with ‘Our Girls’ which was the first item. Though many of ‘Out Girls’ may come home, some will not, due to death, brainwashing, stigmatisation or becoming untraceable, sold into marriage and slavery. If the girls were Israeli or American, there would be dedicated security groups authorised, trained and funded to punish anyone who stole or enslaved even one of ‘Our Girls’ without being brought to justice. If any of ‘Our Girls’ is pregnant and claiming to be ‘happily married’, that girl would be brought home to declare freely her desire to go back if she is old enough.

    Both parents and  ‘Our Girls’ will need intensive one-on-one psychological support  requiring the recruitment of an army of mainly female psychologists and psychiatrists some requiring to give or take crash courses in clinical psychology and ‘Post Traumatic Stress’, PTS. Each girl should have a strategy worked out for her to enable her catch up the six months lost or do WAEC delayed exams and get results.

    Nigeria must not forget that refugees and the military also require PTS care. Since ‘Our Girls’ were taken, Boko Haram has killed between 3-5,000 citizens. The veteran soldier and politician David Mark and his fellow ‘leaders of the National Assembly (NASS) have maliciously manoeuvred to damage the economy further by approving a law allowing them to claim their NASS salaries for life, so ‘There is money, O!’ also for ‘Our Girls’ from Chibok to be rehabilitated. We know that this is just a pretext for all NASS members ‘living and dead’ to also claim ‘Permanent Pensions’. Will their grandchildren get something or at least ‘automatic ticket’? Why not? Power don drunk! God go vex for dis one, 0!

    This is such an idiot country where soldiers are not paid pensions in the middle of a war, no two wars – the Boko Haram War and the Fulani War and we all saw on TV serving solders asked to confront the demonstrating pensioners. The same serving soldiers face being sent to battle even as their compatriots return in back dead and 98+12 are being court martialled for matters surrounding equipment and welfare institutional failures. Will Boko Haram reveal who is funding it? Can it be trusted to stop the violence?

    Last week, the Fulani War was discussed in this column. Surely now that even the Boko Haram is on the negotiation table, it is time for a total ceasefire for the Fulani War, which is a local war with no international funding or fighters. We must not trivialise this Fulani War claiming 20-50 citizens a day or weekly for years. What is good for Boko Haram War is good for the Fulani War. Where is the negotiating team? It is one failure of the 2014 Non-Sovereign National Conference that it neither addressed nor offered any commission to stop the Fulani War.

    Arthur Wharton is ‘Lesson for Today’. He was an athlete, footballer, first African professional footballer in England and is being celebrated this week. Did he run 100 yards in 10 seconds? When? Which clubs did he play for? What position did he play? Where was he from, Nigeria or Ghana? Which school? Did he die poor?  Google him for your children. Do not go too far to find role models and heroes. Your heroes are with you. Have you heard of Olaudah Equiano, Nigeria’s best known slave and first best-selling author? And when did he live? Google please!

  • Tight security as Chibok awaits its girls return

    Security operatives, with sophisticated weapons, are patrolling Chibok, Borno State, the town that is eagerly awaiting the return of its over 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram months back.  Major roads that link the town with other neighbouring towns and villages are heavily manned by security operatives. This has allowed markets, worship places, farmers and motor parks to conduct their activities smoothly.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that normal activities have returned to Chibok as people were seen busy with their daily businesses.

    The District Head of Chibok, Modu Zanna, praised the courage  of President Goodluck Jonathan for the ceasefire agreement between government and the Boko Haram.

    Zanna, in an interview with NAN in Chibok, the Headquarters’ of Chibok Local Government Area of Borno on Sunday, expressed satisfaction with the development and hoped that the ceasefire would bring lasting solution to insurgency in the area, state and the country as a whole.

    Zanna was represented by  Alhaji  Muhammadu Usman,  the Village Head of Garu.

    He called on the Federal Government to include the release of the abducted girls in the ceasefire agreement.

    “I received the news of the ceasefire agreement between government and Boko Haram with infinite joy. We are praying that the agreement will include the release of our abducted girls.” Zanna said.

    Also speaking, the Chibok Local Government Council Vice Chairman, Mr. Alimodu  Amuda, also praised Jonathan for the agreement.

    Amuda said the ceasefire agreement announced by the government was a milestone in solving the insecurity challenges affecting the area and the state.

    He disclosed that the issue of abducted girls was the major concern of people in the area.

    He prayed that government would intervene very soon for the release of the girls.

    On the daily activities in the area since the abduction of the girls in April, he said that normal activities had been restored.

    According to him, people have returned to their houses and normal businesses are being  smoothly  and  successfully carried out.

    He, however, complained of lack of potable water, good roads and hospital in Chibok town as well as post primary schools.

    “We have only one functioning water borehole in Chibok town, no single secondary school in the area and all the roads that linked to Chibok town are sandy.”

    The Vice Principal, Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, where over 200 girl students were abducted, Mr. Bulamodu  Lawan, told NAN that  80 per cent of the school was destroyed during the April  insurgent attack.

    Lawan said that out of 29 classroom blocks, only four blocks remained.

    He said the school’s administrative, ICT and laboratory blocks, Library and the school central store were all razed down completely by the insurgents’ attack.

    He disclosed that some parts of the students’ hostels, staff quarters as well as kitchen and dining hall were destroyed.

    Also speaking, the Chairman, Chibok Village Heads, Malam Lawan Amdan, said the ceasefire agreement was a welcome development, but expressed doubt over the authenticity of the agreement.

    “The ceasefire agreement is a welcome development,” he said.

    He said the Chibok communities were ready to accept any agreement that would bring peace and development  in the area.

    Alhaji  Amadu Mai Atampa, a  wrapper dealer at Chibok Central Market, told NAN that they were happy with the ceasefire agreement.

    He said a peaceful atmosphere was being enjoyed in Chibok town and that there was increase in the presence of security operatives in the area.

    Mrs Mary Nkeki, an Internally Displaced Person camped in Chibok, thanked Jonathan for the agreement.

    Nkeki said that she, her husband and three kids were in Chibok for the past five months following an attack on their village near Damboa.

    The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has said farmers in the conflict-torn Northeast  would return to their farms following the truce reached between the Federal Government and the Boko Haram Sect.

    The Borno chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Monday advised the Federal Government to continue with the ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram.

    Rev. Titus Pona, Chairman of CAN in Borno, stated this in a communique at the end of a three day fasting and prayer for Christians in Maiduguri.

    According to him  government should continue with the agreement in spite of the recent attacks in some communities in the state.

    Pona said that since the insurgents had expressed the desire for peace, government must take advantage of the offer by playing along.

    “We the Christian faithful in Borno commend the efforts of the Federal Government for agreeing with the Jama’atul Ahalis Sunna Lida’awati, popularly called the Boko Haram, for a ceasefire,” he said.

    Pona said there were indications that a faction of the sect might not be interested in the cease- fire agreement.

    “We are happy with the ceasefire, although, we heard some reports suggesting attacks by some suspected insurgents lately. We believe it is only a faction that is not interested in the peace process,” he said.

    Pona added: “ we believe that those interested in peace are in the majority.

    “Government should also be sincere in dealing with the insurgents to ensure lasting peace.”

    He said the ceasefire would hopefully lead to the release of the students of the Government Secondary Schools (GSS) Chibok and others in captivity of the insurgents.

    “We assume that the Chibok girls and other people in their captivity are alive and well,” Pona said.

    “ We pray that the offer for ceasefire will be adhered to  in order to have the abducted ones released and for an end to the insurgency ravaging Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and other parts of the country,” he said.

    AFAN National President Kabir Ibrahim said this while reacting to the announcement of the ceasefire agreement by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, in Abuja.

    Ibrahim said it was a commendable move which would spur farmers’ return to the area.

    He, however, stressed that if the truce was genuine, then the Federal Government should work towards sustaining the agreement to ensure lasting peace in the area.

    He stressed that farmers in the area would require assistance to be able to return to thie profession.

    “We have to look at what the farmers had gone through and see what areas to help them  in terms of seedlings, markets and processing outlets.

    “Also, inputs like fertilisers should be given more than what others have received; if these are implemented, dealing directly with the farmers, they will come out of the wood work.”

    He stressed the need for full engagement of the youths in agriculture, taking into cognizance the turmoil they had been through during the insurgency.

    Echoing similar views, Dr Tunde Arosayin, AFAN’s National Technical Adviser, said farmers needed to be compensated with shelter, food, clothing and farm inputs.

    He urged the state government and local government authorities to partner with the Federal Government and international organisations to rehabilitate displaced farmers through makeshift accommodations.

    “We have to rebuild and reconstitute; so, soft landing is what the people displaced over a year need; most have lost everything, including lands, homes and even capital.

    “I can tell you that over 80 per cent of those populations are willing to go back because as displaced people, they cannot  access sizable lands for farming activities.

    Arosayin maintained that the news of the ceasefire was indeed pleasing to all farming communities in the country.

    “It is very pleasant to us as a farming family; it is a good development because the farming population was seriously affected; virtually everything was disrupted including food supply.

    “We believe with this ceasefire, it will go beyond this level to ensure that peace fully returns to the areas for farmers to go back to continue their activities.

  • Chibok girls and the Villa

    Chibok girls and the Villa

    IT has been six agonising months since the Chibok girls were hurried out of their beds, hustled onto the frontage of their hostels, packed like sardines into trucks and hauled off to God-knows-where.

    For the parents, the pain is better imagined than experienced. Isn’t a dead child better than a missing child, as they say? The government says it knows where the over 200 girls are being kept by their Boko Haram captors. The problem, say the authorities, is that they would not like to do anything that would put the girls in harm’s way. They will surely be rescued. Good. But, the big question is, when?

    That was the question to which the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners sought an answer from the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on Tuesday. They got to the gates of the Villa quite alright, but they got no answer from President Goodluck Jonathan, who a source said was attending to more important matters of state from which a short recess to address the protesters would have amounted to stark irresponsibility. A word from the President they never got. Instead, a minister hurled abuses at a leading member of the group, former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili.

    What was Dr Ezekwesili’s crime? One of the girls who witnessed the night of horror when her friends were hurtled away was asked to relive her experience. She elected to speak Hausa. To Water Resources Minister Mrs Sarah Ochepe, that the girl would not speak English was a pointer to what she called the collapse of education when Mrs Ezekwesili was minister.

    She lashed out at her: “It was during your tenure, Madam Ezekwesili, that the educational system collapsed.”

    Mrs Ezekwesili fired back: “Shame on you! Shame on you!” Some of the parents- old men and women – of the missing girls could no longer hold it. They charged at Mrs Ochepe. Thankfully, they were restrained.

    Why would Mrs Ochepe assault the sensibility of these poor fellows by turning it all into a debate on education? If, indeed, education collapsed during former President  Obasanjo’s tenure, can she say with any sense of responsibility that the Jonathan administration has revived the system? Was she away overseas when the results of the last School Certificate Examination were announced? Was she on vacation when universities were shut for almost one year? What do we call these? Progress?

    Then Women Affairs Minister Hajia Zainab told the angry crowd – by now, many had started crying – that: “Nigeria is a very large country; we are not like Cameroon; some people are talking about Cameroon.”

    Ooouch…I almost threw up. From English language to Geography? Must this woman talk? Why talk like a grumpy, out-of-favour bellicose housewife? Where is that part of her that is feminine and emotional, that part of her from which a baby once sucked milk, that part that once in a while recalls the pains of childbirth? Where is the mother in Mrs Ochepe and Hajia Maina?

    But Hajia Maina was not done. She went on: “I was expecting that you people will stand here and speak maturely and respect yourselves. I am respecting you. It is not as if the government is sitting by and watching; the government is doing all it can to make sure the girls are brought back alive. So, please, let us treat each other with all sense of responsibility and respect. We are all mothers. As much as it hurts you, it also hurts us… .” Haba! What arrogance!

    Madam minister said she came to represent President Jonathan. Really? With an emissary like Mrs Ochepe, no one needs a messenger of sorrow – in a situation that demands compassion, comfort and comradeship. A soothing balm. May the Almighty forgive her.

    Many will argue that Mrs Ochepe and Hajia Maina represent typical members of the Jonathan cabinet. Well, that is neither here nor there. They will point at those who boast about their pugilistic proficiency. Didn’t Police Affairs Minister Adesiyan Jelili, in a fit of awful exuberance, eulogise himself thus: Ta lonje ode aperin loju ode apaniyan (Who is a game hunter in the presence of a killer of men)? Hasn’t Minister of State (Defence) Musiliu Obanikoro been deploying soldiers in selfish and negative missions as if the whole country is Sambisa Forest?

    There are some good guys in the cabinet, but who will rein in the bad ones, those who lack the character to lead, those to whom governance is politics and power is an end in itself and not a means to an end, which is a better life for all –poor and rich? Who will tell them, “enough”? Who?

    We have sought help, yet Boko Haram is holding on to its biggest prize, our girls. Some of the parents said they once contemplated  holding funerals for the girls, giving them up for dead. Others spoke of how they could not help crying all the time. The trauma. The thoughts. Are the girls still alive? Why is it so tough to rescue them? How are they faring? Are they married by force or sold into slavery as Abubakar Shekau threatened? Why won’t the government negotiate with Boko Haram to get the girls out? How has Cameroon been getting its hostages out? Questions.

    To an old man among the marchers, getting the girls back shouldn’t be this difficult. His proof: when the President’s uncle was abducted, he was brought back home in no time. He wondered why the President can’t be swift in this case. He, obviously, forgot to add that Finance Minister  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s mum was also kidnapped. She was retrieved without much fuss. And so many others in government got their loved ones out of such difficult situations.

    The parent went on: “I know that the military is doing their best, but I don’t trust them because the military is divided into two…  Most of the military men have turned the war into business and they don’t want our girls back. Are you trying to tell me that Cameroon is stronger than Nigeria?”

    The man would like President Jonathan to negotiate with the insurgents. He said: “Please, tell him to negotiate, even if they request to release only five of the girls. At least, from them we will be able to ask about their sisters and know how they are faring.” Moving.

    And some food for thought there. How well have we fought this war? The other day, some of our soldiers made a “tactical manoeuver” into Cameroon. They were escorted back home by Cameroonian troops. Many are standing trial for a cocktail of offences ranging from desertion and indiscipline to theft. And many are asking: Is this the military that won laurels overseas? What went wrong? Recruitment lapses? Corruption? Is the military divided?

    The President has spoken of the infiltration of the system by Boko Haram. Besides, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh, believes that there are fifth columnists in the armed forces. The war has gone on for long. Could this be because of the enemy within?

    A senior officer once told me that the media should take it easy in their criticisms of the operations in the Northeast. He said if the troops are demoralised, there will be nobody to protect us all. He said soldiers are to obey orders without questions. In fact, he likened a soldier to a lunatic. “A mad man sees fire, yet he forges ahead,” he said, adding: “When bullets are flying and the commander tells his troops to advance, they must. Today’s soldier hears of Boko Haram, he drops his rifle and begins to run with civilians. This must never be allowed to continue.”

    To the officer, the hallmark of an army is discipline. When an army lacks discipline, in his view, it is like a group of gangsters.

    Are our soldiers well equipped? Said the officer: “Yes. Tanks and aircraft are good, but they are all sectional equipment. What the military owes a soldier is his rifle and if he should die, he must die holding it. Today’s soldier drops his rifle and runs away. We must stop that.” The state’s responsibility to the men – and women – who swore to defend it is for another day.

    And someday, the story of the arms deals that went awry -$9.3 million and $5.7 million- in South Africa will be told, even as the President is seeking permission to borrow $1 billion to energise the war.

    It is not all about arms and cash. No. The Boko Haram cancer will be extricated when we are all ready for the surgery; united in our sincerity; when the government musters the political will to seize the sect’s godfathers and when the sources of its funding are blocked.

    For now, there is no need to quarrel. The message to the murderers, the marauders and the muggers of Sambisa as well as their sponsors is clear:  “All this too shall pass.” Yes.

  • Letter to Chibok girls

    Dear Chibok girls, I write to apologise for our failure and to ask for forgiveness of the misdeed by the whole country for unable to rescue you from the Sambisa Forest, where you are being held by criminal elements that do not want you to go to school. I praise your sacrifice.

    It was six months yesterdays since your freedom was curtailed by Boko Haram, a sect that detests western education. For keeping you away from school and your families, you have not only been psychologically defiled, you are also being exposed to monstrous ideology of a group of barbaric elements.

    Your abduction was seen as the most shocking single kidnap in Nigeria’s annals because of your number – 219. There has been a sustained pain in my heart since you were herded into the bush. You have been kept in absolute confinement and servitude. Pain and fear are part of the realities you have been coping with. They botched your happiness and zeal to acquire formal education. No hope, no help, you had waited for so long for salvation to come but it seems the more you wait, the more the society forgets your tribulations.

    We thought our country is a civilised nation but your mass abduction indicates that we were still wallowing in the river of barbarity. We have disappointed you. We have failed our conscience; we have betrayed your trust, your love and dreams. Worse, the government has denied you of your right to live freely in any part of the country.

    Concerned parents have been out in the cold and intense heat, clamoring for your release. They created a hash tag “#BringBackOurGirls”, which went viral on the social media to draw attention to your plight. This achieved its purpose for a period but we were confounded when the people who are supposed to rescue you created a misnomer the hash tag and politicised its essence.

    While we were yet to come to term with the psychological depression you are subjected by your captors, Ebola, a dreaded disease, found its way into the country. The whole country was in a state of fair because of the rapidity of Ebola spread. We all thought about your wellbeing in the cave you are kept. “What if the disease breaks out in the forest where you are being held, where would the bloodthirsty terrorists get vaccine to treat you?”

    We prayed and hoped this should not happen. We lost eight lives to this deadly disease, including our heroine, Dr Stella Adadevoh.

    When all hands should be on deck to rescue you from the Boko Haram’s den, our leaders have stepped up their political games, forgetting that some 219 girls are in the trenches.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) lost its moral conscience in the narrative. The umbrella body for the Christians is presently enmeshed in politics and a failed cash-for-arm deal. Pastors don’t preach about salvation again. For them, money lubricates the bicycle of gospel. They never preach from Bible again; they preach according to their thought.

    While we are yet to bring you back to your parents, but the Federal Government considered it necessary to shower its friends with national honors. Let us admit that there was an imperative for the government to hold the ceremony, but many of the honorees are underserving individuals whose actions contribute to the challenges facing the nation.

    Nobody remember Dr Adadevoh, who saved millions of Nigerians from Ebola disease by her heroic action to stop the late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American, who brought the disease to the country. Majority of the awardees are members of the political hangers-on whose achievements only brought woes to the country.

    Although there are deserving people, such as Umeh Uusah, a taxi driver that returned N18 million left in his car by a foreigner and Solomon Dauda, a traffic warden, who dances when performing his job.

    Don’t you also deserve a national award in absentia for defying the guns and bombs and went to school in a community where girl-child education is seen as unnecessary?

    The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has released results and as usual many candidates failed. Whose fault? Of course, we should know the attitude of the government towards education. Education is no more that important sector needed for national growth. Standards have been on a free fall, while infrastructure is on steady decay.

    We have praised the bravery of our soldiers in their efforts to rescue you. Some of our best military officers have died in the battles and some were kidnapped in the process. All in the effort to restore your dignity and bring you back to your parents. We will continue to hope and pray for your safe return.

    We will never forget Chibok. This is an open wound on the nation’s conscience and humanity. We will remain guilty of negligence until the day we safely bring you back to the society.

    My heart is with, my sisters. I could hear the echo of your scream. God be with you till we meet again. Your resilience, zeal and courage will continue to be a reminder that about 219 of you are still being held in captive by enemies of our nation.

     

    Yours Sincerely,

     

    Ezekiel, 300-Level Pharmacy, UNIBEN

  • Chibok girls may never return-Obasanjo

    Chibok girls may never return-Obasanjo

    Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has dashed the hope of families of the abducted Chibok girls saying many of the girls may never be reunited with their families.
    Obasanjo told The Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that many of the girls may also give birth to children belong to members of the Boko Haram insurgents.
    He also said that insurgents may have separated the girls and not keeping them in the same place, pointing out that even though he had a way of communicating with the insurgents, the government has not given him permission to speak with them.
    The former Nigerian President said that succeeding generations would continue to remember the girls who were abducted from the hostel in April by the Boko Haram members who have held the captive since then.
    Chief Obasanjo said that only some of the girls who would later get pregnant and find it difficult to cater for the babies while being held captive might be released by the group in future.
    “I believe that some of them will never return.  We will still be hearing about them many years from now, some will  give birth to children of the Boko Haram members, but if they cannot take care of them in the forest,they may release them,”he said.
    The former President had said in June that he could negotiate the release of the girls if the government gives him the permission to do so.

  • Chibok girl moved to Abuja

    It has been confirmed that the Federal Government has moved the Chibok girl Susan Ishaya, abandoned by Boko Haram to Abuja for further treatment.
    Susan was moved from the Police hospital Yola on Saturday to an undisclosed location where she is now receiving treatment in Abuja.
    Susan’s identity is yet to be confirmed or her parents identified since the parents who travelled to Yola to meet with her along with the Vice Principal of the Government Girls Secondary School,  Chibok were unable to see her because she was flown out without their knowledge.
    Director of publicity,  Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA) Dr. Manasseh Allen stated this yesterday in Abuja, during the usual gathering of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy.
    He said that it will be important to Susan’s recovery if she is united with her parents and not hidden away from them.
     “She has been moved by security agencies to Abuja from  Yola since yesterday,  her location has not been disclosed to us,  they are working on her medical condition first before they can acquire any information from her.
    “They have found out that she is still incoherent,  she keeps repeating herself and at times she keeps repeating statements which means that we cannot depend on her words for now.  But our leaders are in touch with the authorities and government.  As I speak to you right now there are people on standby waiting on the military authorities so that they can have access to Susan and ensure that proper medical attention is given to her before before we can go on with whatever can come after.
    “No single parent has made any contact with her, as I’m speaking to you,  no one can say categorically that she is from Chibok because no one is yet to meet her.
    “My point of concern is that in every rehabilitation family is essential even to the healing process medically, so it is essential that Susan is reunited with her family as soon as possible so that the process of her psychological and psychosocial healing is complete,” he said.
  • FG, Red Cross negotiate release of 30 Chibok School girls

    FG, Red Cross negotiate release of 30 Chibok School girls

    •Sect’s reps say girls not raped, not used as sex slaves

    A fresh move to secure freedom for some of the over 200 school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram in April, is underway.

    The Federal Government and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have opened discussion with the sect for the release of the girls, according to agency reports yesterday.

    The girls, contrary to fears in many quarters, are also said not to have been raped or used as sex slaves.

    The terror group is seeking the release of at least 30 of its members imprisoned by government in exchange for some of the girls, reports said

    The three parties have met up to four times on the issue within the last one month.

    “The two Boko Haram negotiators assured the ICRC and government negotiators that the girls were never raped, were never used as sex slaves and were never sexually assaulted,” one report quoted a source as saying.  Boko Haram and Nigeria haven’t been able to see eye-to-eye regarding the number of girls to be exchanged for the 30 prisoners.

    “They were only ready to release one to one, which the government was not going to accept,” the source said.

    Boko Haram submitted a list with the names of 30 members who were either convicted or awaiting trial on terror offences.

    The sect has expressed a willingness for a swap with the ICRC at an undisclosed location, according to the source. But there was disagreement on some terms, including the number of girls involved in the swap.

    Boko Haram had insisted on an even swap – 30 girls for the 30 commanders – but the government refused, according to the source.

    Another hurdle in the talks was Boko Haram’s insistence on meeting the imprisoned 30 members involved in the swap, but they only had contact with six at their  detention centre, the source said.

    The six prisoners include Kabiru Sokoto, a senior Boko Haram commander convicted in December 2013 of terror charges related to the deadly Christmas Day bombing of a church in the town of Madallah in 2011.

    “ICRC couldn’t find where the remaining 24 were being detained,” the source said.

    The Boko Haram negotiators said they would get back to the government after consulting with superiors.

    ICRC sources declined to comment.

    Previous effort, to negotiate with Boko Haram for the girls’ release failed.

    The last was by the Australian priest, Stephen Davies who returned to his country in frustration after several weeks in the country.

    The Federal Government denied engaging him

    Davies sparked controversy when he said prominent politicians and government officials were aiding and abetting the sect.

    Former Borno State Governor, Alhaji  Ali Modu Sheriff and the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika who were insinuated as backers of the sect strongly denied the allegation.

    The Directorate of State Service (DSS) declared  Ihejirika innocent of the allegation but said it was investigating Sheriff who, a few days after, was spotted  with  President Goodluck Jonathan during a visit to neighbouring Chad to discuss the Boko Haram menace with President Idris Deby.

    The Presidency, reacting to criticism, said Sheriff, was not part of the President’s entourage and that he was only at the Ndjamena Airport to receive the President having arrived that country earlier.

  • Chibok schoolgirls twist

    Chibok schoolgirls twist

    •Human rights activist Shehu Sani should name the powerful Nigerians he claimed to be working against freedom of the abducted students.

    Many Nigerians looking forward to the release of the more than 200 Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents since April must have been frightened by the allegation by Shehu Sani, a human rights activist, that some powerful Nigerians are working against the release of the girls. Sani, who had been involved in at least three botched attempts to free the girls and had on previous occasions blamed the failure of the moves on the insincerity of the Federal Government, now believes that the government is getting closer to getting a deal that would get the hapless secondary school students released to their parents.

    The latest twist in the tale has further befuddled the issues and sent the alarm bells ringing on what the government may be planning. Activities on the political scene suggest that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon formally declare his bid for a second term in office and it is obvious that the abduction of the girls could be a hindrance to the ambition. Therefore, it seems that there are three options open to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. First, he could order a full-scale war by the military, backed by foreign allies. Second, he could decide to trade the girls’ freedom for amnesty for arrested insurgents and, third, he could pin the kidnap on opposition politicians or imaginary foes.

    This is why we are worried by Sani’s claim. It corresponds with the position held by key officials of the Federal Government and the voluble spokesperson for the Department of State Services (DSS), Ms. Marilyn Ogar, who have made attempts to pin the failure to get the girls released on leaders of the main opposition party in the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Given his antecedents, Sani’s contention could not be easily dismissed. He had been a victim of state repression under previous government and obviously has contacts with the agents of terror apparently in a bid to resolve the logjam threatening the corporate existence of the country. When the Federal Government named him earlier as a member of a committee to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the conflict, he declined because he could not see the genuineness in the government effort. On another occasion, he had embarked on a private move with former President Obasanjo to stave off the crisis.

    But, the suggestion that some powerful individuals or forces could be working against the release of the Chibok schoolgirls without naming the powerful Nigerians calls for caution. We call on Sani to name the individuals to prevent innocent people from being tagged. As a Nigerian, he ought to make such information available to the security forces even if he does not want to directly put it in the public square. It must be realised that no single individual or individuals could be more powerful than the Nigerian state. The national interest supersedes any other and the day must never come when anyone would be made to believe that he or she is greater than the country. At a time when the entire world is fighting terrorism, no one should be encouraged to shield the identity of sponsors of such a deadly crime.

    We are constrained to warn that any attempt by the Federal Government to use such information as basis for a clampdown on imaginary enemies without full disclosure on the identities, veracity and source of the information would be counter- productive and further compound the woes of a nation humbled by a group that started as a ragtag band of malcontents.

     

  • Shame of a president

    Shame of a president

    It is over 150 days now that over 200 Nigerian secondary school girls were abducted at Chibok by the Boko Haram terrorist group and taken to Sambisa forest. As the battle to defeat the group by the Nigerian military hots up, the whereabouts of the girls remains unknown the reassurances from the military high command to the contrary notwithstanding.

    Following the girls abduction, it took our president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan three weeks or thereabout to publicly acknowledge the dastardly act, and over five months after no serious rescue effort has been mounted to bring the girls home.

    In the face of the seeming silence of the federal government on the plight of the girls at the outset of the abduction, it took the patriotic act of some Nigerians, particularly women through the #Bringbackourgirls campaign to draw global attention to the issue and wake up the president and his team from their seeming indifference.

    And instead of proving to the rest of Nigerians and indeed the whole world that it was serious about bringing our girls back home, all what President Jonathan and his supporters could do was to add salt on the injuries being suffered by the parents of the girls following the abduction of their daughters by hijacking the #Bringbackourgirls slogan with their own #BringbackJonathanin2015 campaign slogan. What a bunch of callous and insensitive people.

    That the #BringbackJonathanin2015 slogan ran for several weeks before it was ordered off by a presidency which wanted us to believe it knew nothing about it showed the seriousness or lack of it that Jonathan and his group attach to the plight of the Chibok girls. If any of the girls were to be the daughter of anyone in Jonathan’s inner circle would that person allow the trivialization of the suffering of the Chibok girls and their parents?

    I can’t resist bringing our so called ‘mother of the nation’, the First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan into this. How would she feel if her daughter is in the hands of terrorists somewhere she couldn’t reach and a group of people supporting a president second term ambition is busy using the only symbol that serves as a reminder of their plight, to promote selfish political agenda?

    I know Madam might not understand this, but none of the parents of the Chibok girls will be happy with her and her husband. Whether solicited or not, the fact that the #BringbackJonathanin2015 slogan/campaign was allowed to go on until there was a public outcry against it showed that the first family actually supported the campaign and was enjoying the ‘fun’. No sane parent should support such campaign. This was no way to be one’s brother’s keeper.

    And continuing the show of shame called the Jonathan 2015 campaign is another group by the name Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN). The group, like the Neighbour-To-Neighbour organization that spearheaded the Jonathan 2011 presidential campaign, has been going about drumming support for the second term ambition of the president. While I find nothing wrong with such an endeavour, coming out now months ahead of the lifting of the ban on political campaign by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a flagrant disregard for the law. And the fact that leading members of the Jonathan administration have been appearing at rallies called by TAN showed that the group enjoys the support, both moral and financial of the presidency. Where is the level playing ground that INEC and even President Jonathan is promising for all the political parties in the run up to the elections if the president and his TAN are allowed to go about campaigning  when a ban is in place and other parties being prevented from doing so by security agents?

    By the way, where is TAN getting its funding from and who are the people behind it?  Definitely not one Mr. Udenta Udenta who calls himself its Director of Communications?  Where on earth is TAN getting that stupendous money it has been expending on its rallies, TV commercials, radio jingles and newspaper/magazine advertisements coming from? Not from Udenta Udenta’s pocket I am sure?

    And in line with the insensitiveness of the Jonathan administration to the plight of Nigerians, TAN even had the guts to organize its South/south rally in Port Harcourt Rivers State at the height of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in the Garden city. Who knows now whether by that action the disease has been spread to unsuspecting members of the public? Our politicians should learn not to play politics with the lives of Nigerians. Whoever advised TAN to take that campaign to Port Harcourt at the time it did surely does not love the people of Rivers State.

    The dignitaries that attended the Port Harcourt rally of shame surely would be able to take care of themselves in the event of an Ebola infection; but definitely not the ordinary man out there who attended the rally probably because of the money given to him or promised him by the organizers. Most of the people out there on that day surely had no interest in the rally or share the belief of the organizers.  They were just looking for what to eat and in the process TAN exposed them to avoidable danger.

    If the president is serious about tackling the issues of state that are threatening the security and well being of Nigeria and Nigerians, he would do well by calling off all TAN rallies as he has done with the #BringbackJonathanin2915 sloganeering.  It is a shame on Jonathan’s presidency that these rallies are being allowed to go on not just because it violates our electoral laws but it is against the mood of the nation. And even the gods are not happy as exemplified by the podium collapse at TAN’s Minna rally.

    At a time when the federal government is seeking special funding for the military for the war against terror, all the money being wasted on TAN and its rallies could be deployed to adequately arming our military for the task at hand. If the money was coming from government it should stop. If the so called friends of Jonathan are behind it, they should show more patriotism by donating such money to the military to buy arms and ammunition to fight Boko Haram. Nigerians would appreciate that more and thank them.

    Watching how Washington and the rest of the western world have been responding to the threat posed to global security by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS as it is called, it suddenly occurred to me that little or no mention was being given to the threat posed by Boko Haram. Could it be because BH is less dangerous to the world than ISIS? I think not. The west is responding vigorously to ISIS because they could find competent allies in the Iraqi government, its military and their Kurdish counterparts. Can we say the same about our own government and military in this war on Boko Haram? I leave the answer to you.