The marking of the ninth year anniversary of the kidnap of 276,000 school girls kidnapped from the Government Girls Science Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram terrorists, coincides with the year of exit of President Muhammadu Buhari from office, 2023, after two terms of eight years tenure. As Nigerians begin to countdown on the exit of President Buhari and the perceivable legacy, many were of the view that one of the significant legacies could be the failure of the president to fulfill his promise to rescue Leah Sharibu and the remaining 96 of the 276 Chibok school girls kidnapped on April 14, 2014, from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists.
Ronke Adeagbo, Founder/CEO, IA-Foundation, United Kingdom (UK), speaking on TVC News on Friday, monitored from Lagos by National Daily, expressed disappointment that nine years after, the federal government was unable to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls in Boko Haram hostage. She lamented that the government had abandoned Leah Sharibu, whose case was internationally sensitive at the time some of the girls were released by Boko Haram, because she refused to denounce her Christian faith.
Adeagbo, therefore, said that the federal government must do everything to bring those girls back. She lamented that those girls kidnapped from the Government are now women and no longer girls. She maintained that they are now nine years older than the age at which they were kidnapped by Boko Haram and have matured to marriageable age in their confinement.
Adeagbo was of the view that it would not be a good legacy that the current President of Nigeria will vacate office after eight years without securing the freedom of the remaining Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity. She recalled that when a citizen of the United States (US) was kidnapped in Nigeria, the US government sent security operatives direct to Sokoto State and rescued the kidnapped U.S. citizen safely, decrying that the Nigerian government at home cannot rescue its own citizens, nor seek foreign support.
Adeagbo noted that many of them have been married out to war commanders and others, adding that their parents have been living in agony and are still living in agony each time the Chibok issue comes up.
Adeagbo said that incoming government must improve security in schools and encourage the number of girls going back to school so as to put the Chibok girls episode behind us. She acknowledged that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has been doing well in encouraging girls to go back to school in Maiduguri. She said that the federal government should adopt the same gender policy, provide adequate security and assure parents that their children are safe in schools.
The Bring-Back-Our-Girls movement was very famous in populist demand for the rescue of the kidnapped Chibok Girls and bring them back safely. The movement suddenly dissolved after the 2015 general elections which the All Pr5ogressives Congress (APC) defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and subsequently, appointment were made with some Bring-Back-Our-Girls activists benefiting from political appointment.
Meanwhile, over 100,000 of the girls were released by the Boko Haram terrorists after much negotiations with the federal government. President Buhari, at different times, promised to ensure the release of the remaining Chibok Girls; this, however, seems elusive in about 45 days to vacate office after his second term.