It was exactly five years on April 14 that 276 students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, were kidnapped by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. While 57 of the girls escaped before they could be transported to the terrorists’ base in Sambisa Forest, a few others were rescued in the course of the last five years, while government was able to secure the release of 103 after an agreement with the insurgents. The deal involved a ransom payment and the release of five Boko Haram commanders.
However, 112 of the girls are still being held by Boko Haram and this fact remains a source of concern and anguish for well-meaning people all over the world. As things stand now, it appears as if the drive to secure the release of the remaining girls has waned significantly.
It was only during the fifth anniversary of the kidnap that some semblance of activity took place – spotlight was beamed on the issue again. Painfully, about 20 mothers of the kidnapped girls had died during the last five years. This obviously is directly connected to the heartbreak from having their children living in uncertain and precarious circumstances with dare-devil terrorists. Many of those still alive don’t have any hopes of seeing their daughters again. They have accused government of abandoning them to their fate.
The silence on the part of government has left many confounded as nothing seems to be happening in the effort to bring the girls still languishing in Boko Haram captivity back home. The parents of one of the girls still being held by Boko Haram are not sure if their daughter, Hauwa, is still alive or if she was killed during one of the numerous bombings carried out by Nigerian Army, a claim that was made by the sect. She could also have died of hunger or disease, given that the army had blocked the group’s access to supplies.
She might also have been converted to the group’s radical beliefs, or worse, may have been married off with a child or even more. The scenarios are endless and also mirror the fears of the other parents. Although, Hauwa’s father, Musa Maina, do not know what has happened to his daughter, he is still hopeful.
He said: “We heard that some parents were reunited with their daughters, but our daughter is yet to come back home. We aren’t losing hope, but we are appealing to government to invest more effort to bring back our girls and reunite us.”
Quite clearly, hope is the only commodity that is keeping these parents going, but government has a responsibility to ensure that the hope is translated into something concrete for these longsuffering parents.
But President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to bring the remaining girls back home as well as Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi Girl still being held by her captors. Although there have been scathing criticisms of Buhari in not securing the release of those still in the kidnappers’ den, the president says this is uncharitable and that he is working to reunite the girls with their families. Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said recently that Buhari promised the parents of the girls when he met them, during his first term as president, that he would bring their daughters home.
“He is aware that this promise he made is the main reason the people of Chibok voted overwhelmingly for him in the February elections and although his government has so far succeeded in bringing back 107 of the girls, the president will not rest until the remaining are reunited with their families.
President Buhari assures the parents that his administration is still on the matter,” Shehu said. We are cheered by this assurance given by Buhari that he had not forgotten about the remaining Chibok Girls and their traumatised parents. However, we also want to task the president to go beyond these assurances, match words with actions and bring the girls back home. Five years is too long a time for those schoolgirls to have been left at the mercy of the murderous Boko Haram.
Government must explore all avenues that are available to it to bring the girls back. Nothing should be spared. No sacrifice is too much to reunite the Chibok Girls with their families. It has been done once already, negotiating the release of the first batch, so it should not be too difficult to reprise the process that led to that original success. Government cannot afford to be too fastidious. It had already negotiated once as already alluded to, even paid ransom, so, what is stopping it from taking that route again?
The most important thing in this whole unfortunate incident is bringing the girls back home safely and there should be no limit to what government can do in this regard. Too much time had been allowed to pass already, so, government has to be very decisive. We can’t emphasise the urgency enough.
