FG places rescued Chibok girl on life scholarship

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed excitement over the release of Amina Ali, one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, announcing that the federal government will be responsible for her education.

Speaking at the presidential villa in Abuja when he received Ali in the company of her 4-month old baby, her relatives, and Kashim Shettima, Borno state governor, Buhari said no one should be denied the right to education.

He said though‎ nothing could be done to reverse the horrors of her past, the government will do everything possible to ensure that the rest of her life take a completely different course.

“Like others all over the world, I’m delighted that Amina Ali one of the missing Chibok girls has regained her freedom‎,” he said.

“But I am deeply sad and disturbed over the horrors the young girl has had to go through at such an early stage in her life. Although we cannot do anything to reverse the horrors of her past, the federal government can and will do everything possible to ensure that the rest of her life takes a completely different course.

“Amina will get the best care that the Nigerian government can afford, we will ensure that she gets the best medical, emotional and whatever care that she requires to get full recovery and be integrated into the society‎.

“Yesterday, medical personnel from government and other NGOs examine her for a total of about five hours, trauma experts from UNICEF also met her, the federal government will assist the Murtala Mohammed Foundation which has already been providing support for the families of the missing Chibok girls and which runs a trauma and counseling facility in Kano, will also be involved in the ongoing work with Amina in monitoring her progress and any additional support she requires.

“For the continuation of Amina’s education so abruptly disrupted will definitely be a propriety of the federal government, Amina must be able go back to school. Nobody in Nigeria should be put through the brutality of forced marriage, every girl has a right to education and their choice of life.

“Rest assured that this administration will continue to do what it can to rescue the Chibok girls who are still in Boko Haram’s captivity. Amina’s rescue gives us new hope‎ and offers a unique opportunity to vital information.”

Shettima described the emergence of Buhari as a divine intervention to rescue his people whom he said were under siege.

He expressed optimism that the remaining 218 girls in captivity will be rescued, saying “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”.

“We were under seige until God in his infinite mercies intervened with your emergence as president,” he said.

“The abduction of Chibok girls was the kicking point. The abduction of the Chibok girls was the point the world woke up from her slumber, when the conscience of the world got pricked. We have to thank you for your efforts in the north east.

“Boko Haram are now on the defensive and on the run and I am pleased to tell the whole world that not a single local government ‎in Borno or in Yobe or Adamawa are under the control of the Boko Haram. They have been sufficiently degraded and now they have resorted to suicide bombing which is a sign of weakness.

“With mix feelings, with happiness mix with sadness because 218 girls are not accounted for but a journey of a thousand miles starts with single steps and the recovery of Amina Ali is a sign of greater things to come.”