Leah Sharibu: Three years after

LEAH Sharibu’s recent third anniversary in the custody of Boko Haram certainly evokes feelings of frustration and disappointment at the way the Nigerian government handles matters of national concern. Leah was the only young girl left in the custody of the terrorists after her fellow students of Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, were rescued from the den of the captors and returned home safely. Some 110 students had been abducted from the school on February 19, 2018, out of which five had reportedly died on the day of the incident. However, on March 21, 2018, the government secured the release of 104 students, excluding Leah. The terror group had held on to her because she had refused to renounce her Christian faith. She was only 14 years old at the time.

Regrettably, not even the sad story of her distraught and inconsolable father suffering a stroke moved the Nigerian state to secure her release. Members of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and the Yobe State government had simply moved on and left the Sharibus in the lurch. It is quite unbelievable how Nigerians have been forced to listen to hackneyed and terse responses from their government each time Leah Sharibu’s matter is raised.

Elsewhere, the social contract between the government and its citizens, namely to protect life and property, is always reinforced and actuated by the government. Little wonder then that there is arguably a dearth of patriotism and fidelity to Nigeria among Nigerians. Each year, the Nigerian government finds it easy and convenient to plead for more understanding and time from the citizenry regarding the case of Leah Sharibu. The hapless teen has been in Boko Haram captivity for more than three years now and the government has refused to make any observable effort to rescue her despite the discomforting rumours of her violation and childbirth in captivity.

While Leah Sharibu languishes in captivity, the Buhari government has been negotiating with bandits and securing the release of captives. No one in government appears to be sparing a thought for her. This, to us, is reprehensible. It deserves condemnation by all. The Buhari government’s attitude to the plight of this young innocent girl languishing in Boko Haram captivity leaves much to be desired. It is absolutely irresponsible. The traumatic and unsavoury experiences that the Nigerian state has visited on this young girl and her family must cease forthwith.

The Nigerian state has foisted pervasive insecurity on the citizenry and against this backdrop, it is hard to imagine the condition in which people like Leah Sharibu have lived in the past few years. The innocent young lady has been forced to live among a most heinous breed of humanity for three years. It is unwholesome for any state to subject its citizens to that kind of experience under any circumstances.

We call on the Buhari government to rescue Leah Sharibu from her abductors and tormentors without delay. It is criminal for the government to abandon her to the fate it foisted on her through gross incompetence. Enough of the hollow promises.

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