Protesters who marched to the presidential villa on Thursday for the abducted Chibok girls have expressed dissatisfaction with the explanations of President Goodluck Jonathan on his efforts to free the girls from their captors.
They urged him to stop seeing himself as the boy of decades who had no shoes, but the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who must act to save the kidnapped girls.
More than 1000 protesters had thronged the Unity Fountain, Abuja, for onward marching to the villa. However, they were cornered at the Federal Secretariat by 10 ministers and many presidential advisers led by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; and Minister of State for FCT, Mrs Olajumoke Akinjide.
Addressing the crowd through Akinjide, the president urged the protesters to direct their protests at the terrorists who abducted the girls, and urged them not to allow their actions to be politicised.
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He maintained that government mobilised military and diplomatic resources right from the day of the kidnap, while the president has been holding meetings with security chiefs almost daily.
But Maryam Uwias, reading a letter on behalf of the protesters, demanded urgent action from the government.
“Mr. President, poverty is not a crime,” she said.
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“You are no longer the boy without shoes; you are the Commander-in-Chief. Mr. President, please act now. We will not stop until they have returned.
“We have heard how great our Nigerian military have been in other countries and we know Boko Haram is small compared to what they have done. It is time to act.
“We have delayed for too long. The girls have spent 38 days in the forest of possibly being raped, molested and killed. We want to stop gathering; we want to celebrate the return of our girls.”
Another leader of the protesters, Oby Ezekwesili, said the protesters “went out of their way” to listen to the government delegation because of their belief in citizen collaboration. However, she made it clear that the answers received were inadequate.
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“None of the issues we raised have been addressed. We actually felt sad for the colossal missed opportunity with Mr. President. We are not the group you should be telling about the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said.
“Our proposal is that we will demand of another opportunity to meet with Mr. President so that he will address the issues we raised.
“Tell Mr. President we hold the office of Mr President in highest regard. We demand to be sincerely spoken by our President. We have conducted ourselves in a disciplined manner.”
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5 comments
It’s really sad comparing citizens of Nigeria with war-torn countries. What message has the government conveyed? Pls they should simply do their job and bring back our girls.
Not once did I see a Down With Boko Haram or Down With Terrorism poster. Are Boko Haram then fighting on the side of the Nigerian people against the hitherto shoeless boy? The politicisation of this demonstration immediately questions it’s motives and the integrity of its sponsors. Hadiza Usman’s late father , the “radical leftist” Yusuf Bala Usman once posited that the oil reserves of the Niger Delta was geologically developed from the bones of dead Northerners washed down the Niger and Benue Rivers to the delta estuaries. Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware
Concipiracy theory rules Nigeria. Boko haram to many southerners is sponsored by northern politicians and elites while for an average northern elite, Jonathan’s government is using BH to destroy the north. Is it surprising therefore that many supporters of Jonathan believe that the #Bring back the girls demonstrations are sponsored against Jonathan’s government .
If you believe that, then you would believe that the sponsors have more money than government to buy over people. Including Oby Ezekwesili and Mrs Uwais!
You have a point. However the two women can be bought quite cheaply, not necessarily with money. Perhaps with promises if a “brighter future”, if you get my drift.
If we do not demand leadership from our President, C-In-C of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria as the protesters have done then where do we go to. The handlers of the President who met the protesting Nigerians did not win the election of the office of the president and they do not understand the satisfaction that comes from meeting face to face with the President. All we need is to know the president and people are working together. Accusing the protesters of politicizing the protest gives me the impression, presidential handlers are more interested in what happens in 2015 than getting status report on the missing Chibok school girls.