Buhari begs for more time to rescue Chibok girls

‎President Muhammadu Buhari has asked for patience from Nigerians on the rescue of 219 girls abducted by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Borno state in April 2014.

Speaking at a meeting with the advocacy group, #Bringbackourgirls at the presidential villa on Tuesday, President Buhari lamented‎ the state of the nation’s security but promised that his government will do all it can to free them.

“It is ironic how Nigeria, which helped Sierra Leone, Liberia and South Sudan,‎ is now asking for help from Niger and Chad. How have the mighty fallen!” the president said.

“‎I don’t think we can rationalise the [past] government’s incompetence in dealing with this issue. We only ask for your patience.”

Buha‎ri also said that in line with his administration commitment to ending the insurgency through collaboration with neighbouring countries, he would travel to Cameroon and Benin after the Ramadan.

Speaking earlier, Obiageli Ezekwesili, former minister of education and coordinator of the BBOG group, outlined the demands of the group, stating that the rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls remained the primary demand.

She noted that the rescue of the girls would be the strongest statement of the government. While calling on the government to establish a national bureau of missing persons to track abducted citizens, ‎the former minister also called for the establishment of a structured feedback mechanism that would provide citizens with information on its effort concerning the rescue the abducted schoolgirls.

‎Also speaking, Dauda Iliya, spokesman of Kibaku (Chibok) Area Development Association, drew Buhari’s attention to the looming famine in the area, even as he emphasised that the rescue of their daughters remained top priority.

He urged the president to put Chibok on the national‎ power grid and to also visit the town within his first 100 days in his office to see things for himself.

Iliya urged the government to station permanent troops in the town, and to look into the welfare of people of the area and their “escapee” daughters because they are “traumatised, displaced, scattered and suffering”.

Buhari responded to the request for the development of Chibok by simply saying: “I think‎ the government should provide this as a matter of right.”

‎He was presented with a document, Citizens’ Solution to end Terrorism, by Yemi Adamolekun of Enough Is Enough Nigeria.

Yemi Osinbajo, vice president; Sambo Dasuki, national security adviser; Alex Badeh, chief of defence staff; and Solomon Arase, inspector-general of police, attended the meeting.