BeHIND the huge doors of the banquet hall at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan listened yesterday to the moving story of the abducted Chibok girls.
Girls, women and men from Chibok broke down in tears as three of the girls – Godia Simon, Dorcas Musa and Joy Bishara – narrated their experiences in the hands of their Boko Haram abductors.
They spoke about how they were captured and how they escaped, according to source at the meeting. Reporters were shut out of the meeting.
There was pin drop silence in the hall as the girls spoke.
A member of the Abuja Chibok Community, Dr. Wakai Chibok, told the 84th sit-out of the #BringBackOurGirls protesters in Abuja what transpired at the meeting, held on the 99th day of the girls’ abduction from the Government Scondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Today is the 100th day.
There are still 219 girls in the custody of the sect whose whereabouts government officials have continuously said they know.
“How to rescue them alive is what we want,” State Security Service (SSS) Director-General Ita Ekpeyong said on Monday.
At the Villa were 119 parents and 51 of the 59 girls who escaped from Boko Haram’s captivity.
Dr. Chibok said: “Actually, it was a very open interaction, even though it was a bit emotional, the girls, women and the men were all crying. The President was at least able to assure us that the girls are safe and will be rescued. During the interaction, we were given the free opportunity to talk; there was no restriction to any particular group. Three of the girls told the President how they were kidnapped and how some of them escaped.
“As the President and commander-in-chief, we certainly take his words because he is the father of the nation and, actually, we believe that he spoke frankly to us with a sincere heart. So, we believe in all the promises that he made to us.
“The President promised to rescue the girls as soon as possible, he promised to collaborate with the Borno State government to rebuild the burnt school to standard with sufficient security. He also promised to make the National Emergency Management Control (NEMA) come to the assistance of Chibok and Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in the aspect of providing them with food to prevent famine in these communities.
“He promised to visit Chibok but said that he did not want to simply come and mourn with us but will prefer to visit after the girls have been rescued to celebrate with us.”
Dr Chibok added: “About three of the girls came out and told us the story of how the thing happened, the very day that Boko Haram went to their hostel, how they were kidnapped, how some of them jumped out of the vehicle and how they got lost in the bush and later were rescued by Fulani people who took them back to the village.
“About two other girls said they were even in the camp of Boko Haram in the Sambisa forest and escaped after they were asked to fetch water for cooking not minding if they would be killed because the security men looking after them among the Boko Haram were busy writing something, which enabled four of them to escape.
They told the story in the presence of Mr President. At the end of the day, they appealed to the President that they were not feeling comfortable in the village because they are scared that Boko Haram might return to take them back. So, they appealed for better schools; that when those other girls are rescued, they will also love to be taken to schools where they can feel secured.
“Because some of the girls said that they were afraid of schooling in Chibok, the President promised to put the girls in different Unity schools to enable them complete their education.
“The mothers came out and spoke in our language and we interpreted. The fathers spoke in Hausa language, which was also interpreted. It was after the mothers came out speaking that everyone started crying because we could not control ourselves. In fact, some of the ministers were shedding tears.
“The President also told us that the Service Chiefs had deployed many troops to Damboa, Chibok and other communities and I’m sure that they are there by now because we confirmed that some of the soldiers are already there. So far, the news from people back home is that there is now security in Chibok.
“|As a father, what the President told us is what we will accept. I trust that he will fulfil his promises, I see no reason why he shouldn’t, because he was speaking from his heart, if you had seen him, you would have known. It pains him just like it pains us. All the 57 girls that escaped and over 100 of their parents were present and they will be leaving for Chibok tomorrow (today) morning.”
The government barred reporters from covering the over two hours 30 minutes meeting. The girls, their parents, community and opinion leaders were shielded from reporters.
At the end of the meeting, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said: “Mr President met with the parents of the abducted girls, community and opinion leaders of Chibok. The parents include those of girls that escaped and those of the girls who are still in captivity, the girls who managed to escape were also here.”
“It was an interactive session during which the President had the opportunity to listen first hand to the various categories of persons. It was a very successful event and a good development because Mr President had always been looking forward to this opportunity. Before now he had met with various stakeholders on the matter but today he heard directly from the persons involved.
“Statements were made by all the representatives of people. They spoke their minds and conveyed their feelings to the President. The girls who escaped also gave an account of what they went through. Mr President reassured them of the Federal Government’s determination and his own personal determination to ensure that the girls that are still in captivity are brought out alive.
“That is the main objective of the government. Mr President also used the opportunity to empathise with the parents and the girls and to reassure them that everything will be done to make things easier for them, especially those who have escaped and the ones that will also be rescued, that their education will not in anyway suffer and he is convinced that evil will never prevail over good.”
Abati added: “Mr President further assured that after the battle has been won and the girls are brought back home, he, together with the parents and the state government, will focus on development, on building Chibok, on building all that the terrorists had destroyed and on ensuring that every child, either in Chibok or in any other part of the country, has his/her dream realised.
“At the end of the meeting, the parents are happy. Everybody is in high spirits. Mr President made it clear that their education won’t be truncated. The government is making efforts to place these young girls in other schools and that they should not be afraid about their future because everything will be done to protect their right to education.
“The parents made it clear that they are representatives of other parents. And you can see that we have over 200 people coming from Chibok. The girls spoke in great details about their experiences and their observations. It was an open and frank session in which everybody expressed their minds.”
President Jonathan, according to Abati, appealed for patience, understanding and co-operation.
He said: “Anyone who gives you the impression that we are aloof and that we are not doing what we are supposed to do to get the girls out is not being truthful.”
“Our commitment is not just to get the girls out, it is also to rout Boko Haram completely from Nigeria. But we are very, very mindful of the safety of the girls. We want to return them all alive to their parents. If they are killed in any rescue effort, then we have achieved nothing.”
Jonathan added: “We solicit your maximum cooperation. Let us work together. Evil can never overcome good. We will surely overcome Boko Haram,”
Governor Shettima called for more sobriety, reflection and unity of purpose in the fight against terrorism in the country.
He pledged that his state would give President Jonathan the fullest possible support for his efforts to address the problems caused by terrorism and the Boko Haram insurgency.
Dr. Pogu Bitrus presented the Chibok community’s address to the President.
Other speakers at the meeting included a district head, Mr. Zannamadu Usman, a member of the Borno State House of Assembly, Hon. Aminu Foni Chibok, parents of the abducted girls.
Yesterday, members of the releaseourgirls advocacy group that attacked the #BringBackOurGirls movement a few weeks ago returned to the protest venue.
The group, which held a vigil on Monday, ensured that the Oby Ezekwesili group, was their usual space. The group came to the Unity fountain in their hundreds and ensured that they occupied most of the space. They did nothing in particular but gathered in groups discussing at the time the usual sit out of the Ezekwesili group held forcing the group to relocate to a small part of the fountain.
The coordinator of the #BringBackOurGirls movement Hadiza Usman, said: “The Unity Fountain is available to every Nigerian who believes that advocacy is good. We call on to every Nigerian to understand what it means to advocate, the challenge that it entails and not to politicise it. Nigerians under any manner should not allow for politics to come in but you should come out of your own free violation.
“People should not pay you to protest. We have seen this movement embark on a protest like a month ago and we have seen their conduct and we call on to them to look inwards and appreciate that what we are doing is for the girls held in captivity. So, they should be mindful of being used to disrupt the advocacy.
“We know that somebody is paying them; we do not know who, but we call them to check their conscience to the extent that, what would you do if your child was abducted? Don’t allow yourself to be paid to come and counter advocates calling for the same thing.”
