CHIBOK GIRLS’ RELEASE AND THE OPAQUE PART
The
last time I checked, Thursday 13th October 2016 remained a
remarkable and memorable day in the Nigerian history. In the early hours of
that fateful day, 21 out of the remaining 218 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls were
released by their Boko Haram captors in the town of Banki, near Nigeria’s
border with Cameroon. It was gathered that they were handed over to a team from
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who reportedly provided
assistance during the transfer deal.
It would be recalled that over two
years ago, in the midnight of 14th April 2014 precisely, the dreaded
Boko Haram sect invaded a government secondary boarding school situated in the
Chibok community, Borno State where girls from surrounding areas including
those of the said school had gone to take their final exams, and made away with
219 of them.
Prior to the incident, several schools in the
region had shut down owing to the Boko Haram terrorism, thus the students of
virtually all the affected schools were transferred to the Chibok school
because it had not been attacked before, little did they know that the worst
would befall the school. It’s noteworthy that one of the captives escaped from
the captors barely few months ago.
The abduction of the girls, to say the
least, brought a colossal nightmare to not just their parents/guardians but
Nigerians at large. Ever since they were taken away, series of campaigns
regarding their anticipated return had been intensified. The leading campaigner
remains the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group. As a result of the intensity of
the BBOG movement as well as the international condemnation received, on May
29, 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari was being sworn in, he stated in his
inaugural speech that the war against the Boko Haram terrorists could not
assume to have been won if the Chibok girls were yet to be released.
Since then, Nigerians had been earnestly
looking forward to embrace their return, not until last Thursday when the
Federal Government (FG) took everyone by surprise by breaking the news of the
release of 21 of them. The girls’ release was indeed mind-blowing considering
that just last month, the FG announced that the ongoing negotiations with the terrorist
group had broken down. Someone might want to inquire why the negotiations later
become successful after the breakdown.
Well, there have been conflicting
reports in various quarters, both home and abroad, as regards what facilitated
the release. It was gathered that four Boko Haram commanders were freed as part
of a swap. Another news making the rounds is insinuating that a ‘handsome’
ransom – in millions of dollars – was paid by the Swiss government on behalf of
the Nigerian government. Though the latter had emphatically refuted the
purported propaganda, Nigerians are yet to be convinced with a view that
‘nothing goes for nothing’.
The thought that the girls couldn’t be
freed by a set of terrorists without receiving anything in return has continued
to generate fathomless mixed feelings among the citizenry. The opaque part of
the good news has been a thing of great concern that needs to be addressed in
earnest by anyone who means well for Nigeria. The followers cannot be kept in
the dark while the leaders are making frantic efforts toward the betterment of
the country. The government needs to comprehend the dangers inherent in
misinformation. The followers deserve to be kept abreast of happenings of any
kind.
Whatever step the FG must have taken,
and is yet to take, it ought to be prepared to intimate the people who are
invariably and ubiquitously regarded as the majority. No rational parent, even
if he/she is not directly affected by the ordeal, wouldn’t want the girls to be
release in return for whatsoever. And, the return of those teenagers has, ab
initio, been the prayer of every well-meaning citizen of this country. But the
disappointing side is the act of relegating the people to the background in
regard to what prompted the peaceful release of the girls. I’m also reliably
informed that the Nigerian Army, who has been the leading the country’s war
against terrorism, was equally kept in the dark.
The FG has unarguably done novel towards
ensuring that the 21 teenagers were freed. In fact, they have succeeded in
doing what Napoleon Bonaparte could not actualize. Hence, they deserve a big
applause. Notwithstanding, they must acknowledge that this is supposed to be a
collective odyssey, not a one-man show. The isolation is simply not unlike a
situation whereby you are fighting the devil and your partner abruptly started
seeing you as the devil.
While the return of our precious girls
is worth celebrating, the FG ought not to forget that the teeming Nigerians are
seriously awaiting some explanations. Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights
activist-
Chief Executive
Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career
Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter:
@mediambassador
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