One Year After And Our Girls Are Not Yet Found By A.S.M Jimoh

For more than a year ago, the misguided
BokoHaram sects rounded up nearly 300
girls from their school in Chibok and took
them to an unknown destination. The
sect had capitalized on the non-existing
government in Nigeria to execute its evil
plan.
While the act shocked everyone, the
Nigeria government led by one Goodluck
Jonathan saw it otherwise. The lack of
action or any form of statement from
the government for nearly three weeks
to acknowledge that some schools girls
had been kidnapped baffled everyone
with morality. Rather than the
government commenced immediate
rescue mission for the girls, it
maintained eerie silence and its lackeys
oozed-they do still- all forms of
stupidity that indicated that the
government never believes that any girl
was kidnapped.
If by the account of ex-president
Obasanjo that for seventy-two hours the
BokoHaram was looking for mean to
move the girls away, it shows that had
the government acted responsibly and
immediately, the girls would have been
freed. It appeared it was not in the
plan of their captor to abduct anyone,
at least not as many as that. They
seemed to have come only for their
usual atrocious murder and arson.
However, when they found that the girls
were loitering about with no protection,
they decided to round them up and for
days, they moved them from village to
village like herds of cattle, looking for
trucks to cart them away.
Having provided the background above
on how a government elected to save
lives of its citizens rather leave them to
danger, the subsequent actions of the
government show neither any sincerity
nor commitment to the girls’ rescue.
When the government eventually feigned
reaction, its steps were that of one
absurdity to preposterousness. It
accused, and accuses still, imaginary
enemies of attempting to taint the
government with the kidnap, as if the
government was not already stained
enough with corruption and
incompetence. The wife of the president
who has no any constitutional power
arrogated power to herself to
interrogate, cause for the arrest and
punish whoever mentioned that girls
were abducted. Her display and that of
other women in Jonathan’s government
makes you doubt if they ever passed
through the pain of childbirth.
For months, the government did not visit
the Chibok community nor sent
representative. All appeals by
meaningful citizens for the President to
visit the Chibok were ignored. People like
Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili who has ensured
that the government shows a modicum of
conscience and be up to the duty it was
elected to do was constantly harassed
and called all sorts of name by
government minions. Her group peaceful
sit-out was often disrupted and her
campaign items for the girls’ freedom
were vandalized.
It was Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old
Pakistani girl, who could make President
Jonathan saw the need of meeting the
girls’ parents. When Jonathan and his
gangs heed the advice of Malala to see
the girls’ parents, he decided to invite
them to Abuja instead of himself going
to Chibok. Even at the meeting, the
Jonathan’s incompetence did not fail to
surface as he shared money for some of
the parents leaving the others empty-
handed. Was this even supposed to be
an occasion to share money to parents
who are undergoing the trauma of losing
children to murderous kidnapers? The
inability of Jonathan himself to be able
to remember the name of the community
from where the girls were abducted
showed that the girls’ rescue was never
in his priority list.
The insensitive of President Jonathan
government to the issue was notched to
immorality when Jonathan’s aides
hijacked the cliché (#BringBackOurGirls)
of Mrs. Ezekwesili’s group as a campaign
slogan (BringBackJonathan) for his
reelection. His ministers who had all long
denied the kidnap or tired of discussing
the issue started to use the Chibok girls
as campaign events for him. One was
laying blocks for a phantom safe school
initiative for non-existing students. At a
time, the government formed a
committee as reward to political
defectors rather than a genuine effort
at doing something on the matter.
Fund-raising dinner was organized for
the victims of Bokoharam, but that is all
we knew about it. How insensitive,
roguish and morally bankrupt could the
Jonathan’s government have been?
The Chibok girls’ scenario eventually
brought to the fore how our once glorious
military has been seriously compromised
and rendered ineffective. We soon
discovered that our armed forces are
staffed with highly corrupt, potbelly
individuals camouflaging as military
generals. Unintelligent statement, such
as “we know where the girls are”, coming
from military service chiefs was all the
indication needed that Nigeria had lost
its once highly celebrated armed forces.
At a time, they lied that they had
rescued the girls. Supposed army
generals who should have been in fields
commandeering army units were on
social media tweeting trash. When some
foreign countries decided to help, they
found that Nigeria no longer have an
armed forces with whom to share
intelligence. In no time, they packed
their belongings and leave.
For the past year, there is no evidence
that government has shown any
commitment to liberate the girls. Rather
it has tried to make political capital and
blood money out of a very sad episode.
In summary, the abduction reveals to us
all the tragic comedians who control our
important national institutions and
national affairs.
One year after, the news about the girls
is that they have not yet been found.
One cannot imagine the suffering of
their parents. As of August last year,
thirteen of the parents had died from
the trauma of losing their children to
abductor. It is really tragic. Truly, if the
girls had died from natural causes or
even accidents and were given befitting
burials, we could all have come to term
with it and accepted it as destiny.
However, the nagging thought of the
girls being in the hands of some evil
people is more traumatizing than that of
death.
It is plainly obvious that the government
has no interest for the girls’ rescue in
spite of the entire pretense. Daily
comments and body languages of
President Jonathan’s aides are pointer
to this. The sad fact we must adjust to
is that the girls would not be home any
time soon at least in the remaining days
of the Jonathan’s presidency. The
outgoing service chiefs who had said
initially that they knew where the girls
were have now said that they do not
know whereabouts of the girls. Are you
still hoping on Jonathan’s government
and its useless military?
Our anticipation now is that the incoming
government will act differently on the
matter and all other security-related
issues. The incoming government should
invest more on intelligence gathering
and involve all individuals who may have
any clue that can lead to the rescue of
the girls. Citizens should be informed of
government rescue effort while at the
same time not jeopardizing intelligence.
The parents of the Chibok girls and all
relatives of the victims of various
BokoHaram’s attacks should be provided
psychological support as well as social
and economic rehabilitations.
As of now, we can only hope that the
girls and others still in the BokoHaram’s
den will be liberated. In the word of ex-
president Obasanjo, it might be
impossible to have all the girls back. As
uncomfortable and pessimistic this might
sounds, we are hoping that whatever is
remaining of the girls physically and
psychologically will be saved. We are
anticipating that the next anniversary
should be on the freedom of the girls,
but not another year of their continuous
hold-up under BokoHaram’s torture.

S. M. Jimoh.
The writer can be reached on
anehi2008@gmail.com and tweets on @
anehi2008.

views expressed are not necessarily the opinion of blog author.