Again, Easter without Citizen Leah Sharibu

IT was not a fairy tale  when parents of  Tanitoluwa “Tani” Adewumi said his brilliance at chess would never have had an outlet in Nigeria.It is as true as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Nigeria has a way of clipping the wings of its brightest and condemning them to the chasm of hopelessness.Remember Tanitoluwa? The eighth-year-old wonderboy who emerged the winner of the third-grade category of chess championships in New York City in the states. I like the way New York Times’ columnist, Nicholas Kristof, captured his exploit.Kristof wrote: ”He went undefeated at the state tournament last weekend, outwitting children from private schools with private tutors.” Indeed, talent is universal,even if opportunity is not(apologies Kyle Griffin). Of course, Tanitoluwa’s story is another eloquent testament to the fact that Nigerians can hold their own anywhere in the world when they are not held down by our self-imposed barriers. It is instructive to note that Tanitoluwa and his family fled Nigeria in 2017 to escape Boko Haram terror  threat in the north.

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But one cannot but spare a thought for children who have not been so lucky in the beleaguered northern Nigeria.Unlike Tanitoluwa,they have been kidnapped, killed and orphaned. They are victims of wickedness in high places and the ineptitude of Nigerian leaders.The world can neither see their brilliance nor talent let alone shower plaudits on them. Blame not Tani’s father when he confessed his love for New York City. Hear him: “The US is a dream country.Thank God I live in the greatest city in the world, which is New York,New York.”Who would not be over the moon when they escape the regular boom of bombs in some troubled states in the north and the possibility of feeding on onion leaves like Bauchi Internally Displaced People(IDPs)?

Perhaps Nathan Sharibu, Leah Sharibu’s father, would have shared the same testimony if he had fled Nigeria in 2017 like the Adewumis before the February 19, 2018 abduction by Boko Haram elements which saw over 100 girls herded away in trucks, including his daughter at the Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State. With his visage clouded by agony, Nathan said: “It is a sad Easter without my daughter” in an interview with Channels TV in 2018 during Easter celebrations. A year after, his plight has not changed despite several sugary promises by the presidency that Leah would be found and reunited with her family. A distraught Nathan is still locked in the prison of hope. In the Yoruba-speaking part of Nigeria, it is believed that it is better for a child to be dead than to be missing. For Nathan and other Sharibus, the thought of the possibility of Leah suffering daily sexual assault, risk of being killed, the possibility of not being seen again and other fears envelope them. But they are not alone in the dark cell of misery.In April 2014, the sleepy town of Chibok was shot to national and international limelight for the wrong reason when Boko Haram elements invaded Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok,Borno State,stealing 276 girls in the same manner the Dapchi abduction happened in 2018. Five years down the line, the tears provoked by the abduction have not dried for 112 girls are still missing. Consistent with its regular practice of reeling out excuses in soulless statements to hide its failings, the presidency had argued that the delay in reuniting Leah with her family was occassioned by the fear of her abductors, explaining that they feared that the heavy military presence in the areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety on returning her to the government. It can tell that to the marines.

It is hard to shake off the feeling that if Leah was the daughter of one of those in the power loop, she would have long regained her freedom.It must be said that no excuse will suffice for failing to secure the release of Leah, especially from President Muhammadu Buhari who once promised Nigerians their children would be safe in our schools when he wanted former President Goodluck Jonathan’s job after the Chibok episode happened. It is incumbent on the Buhari government to step up measures to prise Leah out of the stained hands of her abductors. However, in a country where 10.5 million children are out of school with 69 per cent in the North alone, according to the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund(UNICEF), it is safe to say that 7,425,000 children in the North have lost out on hope and the future they can have for themselves, making them easy prey for Boko Haram terrorists. We may funnel billions of dollars into buying arms because we intend to win the war against kidnapping and terrorism, but we will not win the peace if we fail to invest in free and compulsory education, especially in the North. Let us take the time bombs off our faces by taking away children from the streets. Leah and other missing girls deserve freedom and an outlet to showcase their talents to the world like Tanitoluwa. As long as they remain under the firm grip of their abductors, a ring of guilt will continue to hang on the neck of everyone who swore to protect us but has failed to make Nigeria livable for a great number of Nigerians.

• Ladelokun writes in from Ogun State.