Yobe abductions, what if it’s your child?

o haramBOKO Haram, the Islamist terrorist group, after being ‘technically’ defeated, struck on Monday, February 19. The group, whose name translates to “Western education is a sin,” stormed a girls’ school in the village of Dapchi in northern Nigeria to abduct students. Out of the 907 schoolgirls who were in the school that day, more than 100 are still missing.

The entire drama is akin to that of the Chibok girls. Till date, that epic drama remains suspense-filled. It took Boko Haram’s massive kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014, and the shocking announcement that the girls would be sold in the “marketplace” as “slaves” or forced into marriages to raise global awareness. Four years later, many of them have been released, but more than 100 are still missing.

Some three years ago I wrote under the title “Coming to a cinema near you- Yobe State”. And indeed just like then, I can say that it really has come. Three years ago it was the Yobe tragedy, the Yobe state massacre, the Yobe killings and all the headlines, the reactions, from outrage, to rage. Then it was Jonathan as Mr. President and his explanations and assurances came to naught.

We have been told that the army left few hours before the Boko Haram guys struck, the army says, it was given false intel. Defending itself, saying X, Y and Z occurred. Again in 2018 it is the same story!

As all these killings were taking place, life simply went on, nothing halted. Centenary awards, 2015 politicking and strategising went ahead, APC screaming blue murder accusing the President; but the truth, sadly, is very few of us know sorrow. And today, the reverse is the case, 2019 politicking going on, PDP crying wolf and the sorrow of Yobe continues.

Nigerians are not sad enough, we have not shown that we are unhappy, the nation is not dejected, beyond all the prayers of ‘God will confuse them (Boko Haram), God will punish our leaders etc.’

Nobody really is in deep regret; we are not truly sad, we cannot feel sad, be miserable, or be despondent, we cannot despair, or see the suffering, and ache because last night we tucked our kids in bed, kiss them good night and sweet dreams and with a big smile we answered to their “good morning daddy, good morning mummy”. It is not about leadership, it is about you and me; we cannot see because we cannot weep is a phrase in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.

The Yobe state attacks have become serial; at the last count, four of such, and more 120 students and about the same figure abducted. There was also the Government Secondary School, Mamudo, Potiskum local government area, about 90km from Damaturu where 29 students were slaughtered in a mid night attack. The College of Agriculture in Gujba local government area was also a target with some two-dozen students killed, also in the midnight. The current administration like the one before it, has not been entirely honest about Boko Haram, and that their technical defeat, and if we all keep mute, the movie called Yobe is coming to a cinema near us, how brutal, while we scream Allah forbid–only time will tell.

• Prince Charles Dickson PhD

pcdbooks@outlook.com