Chibok Girls: The pathetic drama of a rescue

Despite the joyful news to Nigerians, last Tuesday, of the rescue of Amina Ali, one of the kidnapped Chibok school girls, and another one, Serah Luka, barely 24 hours later by the military, the unending controversy and pathetic drama surrounding the April 2014 kidnap of the girls is one that will certainly not end anytime soon.

For instance, how do you explain and reconcile the claims by military authorities through the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, that Serah was one of the abducted girls and the daughter of one Pastor Luka, a member of the Chibok parents, when Yakubu Nkeki, Head of the Chibok Abducted Girls Parents Group, has openly announced that Serah  is not among the abducted girls going by their own records and that in the list of parents, they have only four priests and none of them bears Luka  as claimed by the military?

What type of crappy information is the army feeding Nigerians? Even in the case of Amina, a different name was first released to the press before the real identity of the girl was discovered. And there are so many missing links. Frankly, it’s shameful and unpardonable that the military couldn’t get the real identity of the rescued girls right before rushing to inform the world. When people fail in the little things, how do you have confidence in them to succeed in the big things?

But further depressing and disappointing is the emerging news that Noah, Amina’s 38-year old brother who went along with his mother, sister, and her four-month old baby, Safiya, to the Villa last Wednesday when they were presented to President Buhari by the Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima, is now saying he no longer knows the whereabouts of his mother and sister.

According to Noah in what he later told some reporters, as soon as the ceremony at the Villa was over, he was taken to a nearby hotel by a certain Colonel O. M. Aleje who assured him he would be reunited with his mother and sister the following day only for him to be stranded at the hotel. He explained that he was left in the hotel for almost 48 hours without being able to get across to the Colonel on phone while no official especially those from Borno state even bothered to get across to him.

He didn’t get to speak with Aleje until Friday night when the angry Colonel told him off wondering why he was still at the hotel when the military only paid for a night. Aleje warned him to leave the hotel immediately or else would be the one to pay the bills himself.

Of course, Noah eventually left the hotel that Friday night at 9:30pm after one of the hotel’s guards, a Good Samaritan, gave him N100, 000 after hearing his story. He explained that he spent the night at a cheaper hotel in Nyanya before leaving for Maiduguri the following morning where he is putting up with his uncle even as he anxiously awaits news of his mother and younger sister.

Meanwhile, here was a Nigerian who, 48 hours earlier, was with the President who was making sweet-sounding promises to family. Shamefully, the little but very important matter of ensuring their safety and welfare during their stay in Abuja wasn’t of concern to those in charge!

Now, it’s ugly scenarios as this one that continue to convince some Nigerians who have given up hope in the country that the government doesn’t give a damn about citizens and that our political leaders have nothing meaningful to offer the common man no matter their preachments and patriotic drama.

The other day, I received a mail from a brilliant young Nigerian who read my column of 18th May, “The men who gave up on Nigeria,” and pointedly wanted to know why I still have faith in what he called “this failed state.” In his lengthy letter, he tried to justify the reasons for his pessimism, a vital part of which I want to share with you. Here’s what he wrote:

“This country has frustrated me a lot, I wrote UTME in 2011 and my result was withheld due to suspicions that I cheated. When my aunt pressed further concerning why my result was withheld, it was stated that I scored too high and they assumed I must have cheated. My questions then were “Did JAMB do a background check to ascertain my previous academic performance?” “Was there any inquiry into what happened at my centre which was inside the University of Ibadan that day?”

“I was lucky my aunt knew some influential personalities at JAMB and after about four months, my result was released. But then, what if I didn’t have influential relatives? What would have been my fate?

“In the end, I thank God I graduated from the University of Ibadan with a first class honours degree. I was lucky the incessant strikes, poor learning and living conditions did not affect my grades. How many people were so lucky? Now some people advise me to study in Nigeria for a Post-graduate degree but my mind is made, I have had enough of Nigeria’s madness. I want to leave this country and never look back. I have vowed to myself that my children will not witness the frustration, inefficiency I witnessed in this country growing up.”

While people are entitled to their opinions and are free to take all lawful steps they believe would lead to their advancement in life, I believe part of the change Nigerians wanted to see, when they voted for President Buhari in 2015, is a change in the way government treats citizens. Nigerians want to see government officials at all levels demonstrating sincere concern for the welfare and genuine compassion for wellbeing of all Nigerians. Sadly, this is a change still being awaited.

With the way the Buhari government has so far gone about the matter of rescuing the girls, after abusing and lambasting the Presidency of Goodluck Jonathan for its poor handling of the same issue, it is equally far from impressive.

For instance, in April, when the CNN aired a video of some of the schoolgirls showing that they are still alive and looking well taken care of, President Buhari, speaking to journalists, said he wasn’t aware of the video before it was shown to some of the affected mothers, and surprisingly added that he would not have allowed the parents to see the video if he had known about it earlier. His reason? So that the hopes and expectations of these mothers aren’t raised and later dashed if the girls couldn’t be rescued by his government eventually!

Now, much as the President’s sentiments cannot be totally brushed aside, it is a limited viewpoint.  Which is better? For the traumatised parents to have no idea whatsoever about their girls whether they are alive or dead, or for these suffering  mothers and fathers to see some evidence that their girls are still alive and there is indeed a flicker of hope that they would someday return home to them no matter how long?

Frankly, will it not gladden the hearts of these Chibok parents to know that the children they fear they may not be able to see alive again are hale and hearty somewhere even if they don’t yet know where or when they would return? Or is the President suggesting that an indication or inclination that the some of the girls are alive isn’t some form of temporary relief to the parents and indeed to Nigerians even as military efforts are on to rescue the remaining girls?

That seemingly-harmless but weighty statement clearly exposes President Buhari’s mindset. It’s worrisome. What am I saying? I’m saying helpful facts can be hidden from the public and useful information can be suppressed by this administration, no matter how beneficial to Nigerians. I’m saying executive deceit and mischief continue to go on in even in this administration. The signals aren’t good.

It’s also evidently clear the current leaders do not place any genuine value on the life of the average Nigerian. The government absolutely doesn’t think the life of every Nigerian matters or counts, otherwise the Chibok girls would by now have been rescued in fulfilment of Buhari’s and APC’s campaign promises. This is a fact; believe me, an unfortunate fact, no matter their claims to the contrary.

Honestly, it’s sometimes difficult not to get depressed as a journalist, columnist or public writer in Nigeria. You expect leaders to always take wise decisions and actions that are in the best interests of the country at every given time yet they don’t. Even when they know the right things to do, they delay these unnecessarily and refuse to offer cogent reasons and explanations arrogantly believing they don’t owe the people clear answers. They carry on as if they are dead to human feelings and their hearts have been seared with hot irons and can no longer show empathy to the suffering masses they claim to be serving.

Meanwhile, although there are some Nigerians who unrepentantly believe the kidnap of the Chibok girls was a planned effort by some Northern politicians to discredit former President Goodluck Jonathan and wrest power from him by every means possible, and that there is indeed more to it than the world yet knows, I believe the full story of the kidnap and the suspicious roles all of the main actors played would someday come to light.  But rescuing the kidnapped girls should be of paramount importance and concern to all Nigerians now. It was part of the APC’s campaign promises. President Buhari must no longer delay on it.

And Nigerians also expect the administration to unmask the high-profile sponsors funding the operations of the sect that’s now officially the number one terrorist group in the world. Time reveals secrets. Someday, no matter how long, I believe the truth, the whole truth, will come to light.

Overall, all efforts must be made to ensure that the remaining Chibok girls still in captivity are rescued without further delay. The outright lies, half-truths, tardiness and flip-flops must stop. Every Nigerian life matters. And the federal government must be in the fore-front of protecting this right to life and dignity as enshrined in our constitution. Nigerians are eagerly watching and waiting.

Kolawole is an award-winning journalist and author. You can reach him via [email protected]. SMS Only: 08033983499. Twitter: @ofemigan