Chibok Girls and Unanswered Questions, 1,5 Year Later (Pt 2)
Editor’s note: In his recent interview to BBC Hausa, President Muhammadu Buhari reworded his concern about the still-missing Chibok girls, revealing the army’s official assessment of the girls’ destinies. Legit.ng contributor, Dr Deborah Nelson, says the whole story, which is a year-and-a-half old, raises more questions than it provides answers.
Read part one
Female students of GGSS, Chibok
Some of the girls who allegedly escaped from BHIJ captivity were interviewed by Al Jazeera and CNN correspondents at various times, but none of them could speak the English language. One of the girls claimed that BHIJ used only two trucks to convey them that night.
If these girls are the real students in question, were they going to write SSSE in the Hausa language? Is it possible to use only two trucks to successfully transport 234 girls and food stuff to Sambisa Forest that night?
The Ezekwesilis
On 11 September 2001, the Twin Towers in the USA were brought down by Islamist jihadists. Almost 3,000 people were killed, along with the 19 terrorists. On 7 July 2005, they bombed underground trains and a bus in Central London, killing 56. It took the USA, the most powerful nation in the world, years to eliminate Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of 9/11. During those years, no opposition political party, social commentator or non-governmental organization aligned with the Islamic jihadists to malign the US government and the armed forces.
Does it mean that, by rallying round their governments and the armed forces to confront the Islamic jihadists, opposition political parties, social critics and non-governmental organizations in the UK and USA are not as patriotic as the Ezekwesilis?
Led by supposedly educated Nigerians, such as Obi Ezekwesili, the Bring Back Our Girls campaign embarked on daily condemnation of the Jonathan’s administration and the military for failing to rescue the girls.
As far as the Ezekwesilis were concerned, Governor Shettima has no case to answer, hence they never made any attempt to question the circumstances surrounding the alleged abduction. Their primary objective was to use the alleged abduction to comprehensively denigrate Jonathan’s administration and promote Buhari’s candidacy.
Like Daniel Kanu and Authur Nzeribe, who used Youth Earnestly Yearn for Abacha, and Association for a Better Nigeria respectively to sheepishly campaign for HF hegemonic agenda, Madam Obi Ezekwesili followed the inglorious footsteps of her kinsmen to use the BBOG platform to campaign for the same purpose.
[article_adwert]
The Ezekwesilis’ campaign of calumny against GEJ was so helpful that Chief Audu Ogbe publicly acknowledged BBOG’s contributions at Eagles Square, Abuja, in October 2014, during Buhari’s declaration to re-contest.
As expected, Ezekwesili and her cohort have run out of steam since the swearing-in of Buhari on 29 May 2015. Now that the BBOG is a shadow of itself, has Buhari rescued the Chibok girls, or was it a HF campaign outfit as acknowledged by Chief Audu Ogbe? In appreciation for BBOG’s support, a co-founder of BBOG, Hadiza Bala-Usman had since been appointed chief of staff and member of Buhari’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Committee by Mallam El-Rufai and Buhari respectively. Though Buhari seems to detest the Igbos with a passion, it is hoped that Ezekwesili’s loyalty to HF hegemonic agenda will convince him to find something for her, however small.
The January 16th bravado
After the APC presidential campaign rally in Maiduguri on 16 January 2015, Buhari insisted on visiting the Chibok village. He reluctantly aborted the journey when he realized that the military were not prepared to provide adequate security.
If Buhari’s desire was not a political grandstanding, why has he not visited thevillage or anywhere in the North-East, in spite of the fact that BHIJ have killed thousands since 29 May 2015? Why has he not abandoned the comfort of Aso Rock Villa and relocated to the North-East to lead the battle against BHIJ from the front, as he promised during the campaign?
May God grant us the Grace to see with our eyes, but not with our minds.
In April 2014, hundreds of young schoolgirls have been abducted by Boko Haram from the Government girls' secondary school in Chibok. The shocking news, and subsequent “ proof videos” released by Boko Haram, drew global attention, with many foreign governments offering their help in order to facilitate the release of the girls.
With the clock ticking, theories and strategies were forged both by officials and ordinary Nigerians concerning the girls’ whereabouts, possible fates. Some of the girls managed to escape their captors and have granted interviews to international news outlets.
To this day, skeptics find new “evidence” to substantiate the fact that no abduction took place in the dormitories of the Chibok girls’ school. Their opponents, most notably, the #BringBackOurGirls initiative, are unrelenting in reminding the world of the issue. A year and a half later, the interest for the global Chibok girls-oriented campaign has subsided, but the movement still exists, and the new Nigerian government, and army do have the girls on their mind.
Dr Nelson is writing from Ilorin, Kwara state.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Legit.ng.
Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@naij.com — drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Legit.ng’s step-by-step guide for guest contributors.
We’re ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.
Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Legit.ng Opinion page!
Source: Legit.ng
