Five years of Chibok girls; like Jonathan, Buhari failed missing school girls, parents ― BBOG

THE #BringBackOurGirls movement on Sunday affirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed the missing Chibok school girls as well as their parents for failing to fulfil his promise of securing the release of the remaining 113 Chibok and Dapch school girls.

This was even as it maintained that failures on the part of the government had led to the state of insecurities in the country.

The group in a press release “Shame Of a Nation” jointly signed by Florence Ozor, Gapani Yanga and Nifemi Onifade in Abuja to mark five years since the abduction of the schoolgirls, argued that the event leading to the kidnap of the girls was badly managed by the two successive governments.

According to the group, the current administration has continued to hold back information on the status of its rescue efforts regarding the girls.

“We, however, know that one thing they have uniformly expressed is the deepest level of disappointment at the way that the tragedy – the abduction of their daughters and the grief of parents – have been badly managed by two successive governments.

For these parents, they feel that our country let down their daughters by failing to uphold their right to freedom and life. For these parents, the worse is that the current administration, which while in opposition, promised to dignify them and their daughters by taking speedy actions of rescue and keeping them abreast of developments.

“Today, five years after, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has persisted to deny #Chibokgirls and their parents the speedy action of rescue promised. Even worse, it has denied them the simple and basic respect of providing updates on the status of the federal government effort, if any at all to rescue them,” the statement reads in part.

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The group reminded that the President had made abduction of #ChibokGirls the epicentre of his campaign in the 2015 Presidential elections and as such failed to fulfil his promises five years after.

“The world which cried out in unison for justice on behalf of #Chibokgirls are not at all fooled by any statement that may be made today by the government of President Buhari. They can see that the parents of our remaining school girls have wickedly been forgotten and abandoned to their fate, and left to grieve the loss of their children without any form of closure being declared by the Federal Government. No serious government handles a matter like the still missing 113 school girls of Chibok and Dapchi with the levity of an unending saga.

“ The same manner of gross neglect and abandonment has also been extended to the parents of #LeahSharibu. We question the Government’s silence on #LeahSharibu. We question Government’s silence on the state of Alice Nggadah of UNICEF,” it stated.

It also stated that the lackadaisical attitude of the government has further encouraged terrorist attacks in the country.

“Unfortunately, the federal government chose to rather behave in ways that further emboldened those who abduct, kill and maim our citizens and destabilise our country. It does not surprise observant followers of the destabilisation of most of the Northern states of Nigeria that the inept and lackadaisical handling of the #Chibokgirls saga laid the grounds for terrorists and their groups to capitalise the failures of governance.

“Today, abductions and kidnapping are rife, gruesome killings take place on repeat basis across the country and internally displaced persons are unable to rebuild their lives. That Nigeria has, since it failed our #Chibokgirls in 2014, degenerated to become a poster country for terrorist mayhem is the grandest shame of a nation.

“The degenerate state of security in our country today can be surmised to be the result of the failure of our government to embrace the fundamental values of shared humanity, the dignity of life of Nigerians and the erosion of social contract with citizens,” the statement reads.

The group, however, vowed to continue in its call for the release of the schoolgirls irrespective of government actions or inactions.

“our voice shall continue to make the same demands no matter how impervious to its duty to our #Chibokgirls the President and his administration may act.

“In our role as active citizens that have taken a firm stand for humanity and against injustice, we have in the five years not merely advocated but also produced diverse tools tackle the insecurity problems.

“Today, our core demand remains the same, relevant today as it has been on each of the 1811 days that we have daily turned up at the Unity Fountain pressuring two consecutive Presidents of Nigeria to rescue the remaining 112 #ChibokGirls , Leah Sharibu, Alice and others. For as long as they remain in captivity, we BBOG shall continue to carry them in our hearts and make our voices resound and reecho our cries of five years,” the group maintained.

In another development, Chibok indigenes have cried out over the incessant and sustained attacks on Kibaku land(Chibok) perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorists.

It said the attacks, which poses genocide threat, has led to deaths and sacking of several villages and wards across the land.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the National President, Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), Dauda Ndirpaya Iliya, the association stated that Kibaku, hitherto known for its farming and animal husbandry prowess in food production has been reduced to a state of hunger, penury and destitution.

According to the statement, indigenes of the Kibaku now are scattered in Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) camps across Gombe and Adamawa due to the carnage caused by insurgents in their respective communities.

“ KADA also wishes to bring to attention the incessant and sustained attack on Kibaku land by the Boko Haram Terrorist in recent months and weeks. These unrelenting attacks on Kibaku (Chibok) land have assumed a very dangerous proportion and have expectedly led to several deaths and sacking of several villages and wards across Kibaku land.

“Attacks by the Boko Haram Terrorists whose wanton destruction of all harvests and livestock is sure to further distress our people a lot of whom are still scattered all over adjoining states of Yobe, Gombe and Adamawa in IDP Camps or squatting with families and friends all over the country.

“No false alarms here, but the Kibaku land is faced with genocide type threats from the Boko Haram terrorists. We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to come to the rescue of the Kibaku people before it is too late,” the statement read in part.

While calling for Federal Government’s (FG) intervention, the Association urged the government to provide true and valuable support and relief materials to the affected and completely displaced people of Chibok (Kibaku) Communities.

Affected communities as listed are:Kwamjilari, Chilari, Kubrivu,Shuwa, Bilakar, Gwagwamdi,Kulali, Kautuvwa, Maimadiri, Ngurudebo, Kuyipaya.

Also, the Association called for the construction of the 40km Long Mbalala-Chibok-Damboa federal road which has been on the drawing board for over 40 years.

This, it averred, will impact social infrastructure and enhance immediate and rapid response to emergencies from these adjoining communities.