As today marks one year since over 200 girls were abducted
from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by
the Boko Haram terror sect, the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG)
group would conclude its one week of global action on the
clamour for the girls' rescue from captivity.
According to the group, the week of global action is meant to
raise awareness and also demand expeditious global
campaign to accelerate all efforts being coordinated by the
Nigerian government and her allies towards their rescue.
Of 276 girls originally abducted a year ago, 57 escaped from
the terrorists while 219 of them are still missing.
The one week of global action began last week Wednesday
with a media briefing at Unity Fountain in Abuja, where the
plans for the commemoration were unveiled.
The next day, the group held a walkathon and repeated the
same exercise on Friday, but this time tied the red ribbon from
Unity Fountain all the way up Shehu Shagari Way, up to the
Police Force Headquarters and back.
Also, that same day, special prayers were held at Unity
Fountain in Abuja, and a sermon with the topic, “The role of
girl child education in Islam”, was preached.
The group on Saturday had a social media network awareness
especially on Twitter where they succeeded in having a
tweethaton.
The next day, the group held a special service in churches
across Nigeria and the world, where the prayer request was
for a miracle that would bring the girls back alive.
Although the special commemorative service billed to hold
yesterday was postponed for a later date, the #ChibokGirls
monument was unveiled, after which a vigil and candlelight
procession was held.
Another highlight of the commemoration was the plan to
select 219 Chibok ambassadors who would today carry the
message for the rescue of the girls.
According to Co-convener, BBOG and former Minister of
Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, "Their peers that signed up
and were selected as our #ChibokGirlsAmbassadors will be
the ones carrying the message for their rescue.”
The #ChibokGirls Ambassadors, who are part of the Global
Schoolgirl March, are expected to stage a march today from
the Unity Fountain to the Federal Ministry of Education,
Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
Also to mark the anniversary of the missing girls, THISDAY
gathered that the famous Empire State Building in New York
would be lit today in purple and red in honour of the BBOG
campaign.
The organisers explained that while the red colour stands for
the BBOG’s chosen colour, the purple stands for the campaign
to end violence against women.
The BBOG on Monday also embarked on a silent protest over
the lack of knowledge about the true status of the girls.
The protesters in their normal red attires used red cellotape to
seal up their mouths to show their displeasure with the federal
government’s silence on the whereabouts or true status of the
girls.
One of the leaders of the group, Dr. Emmanuel Shehu, who
spoke to THISDAY, confirmed that as part of activities lined
up to commemorate the disappearance of the girls, over 150
teenagers named ‘Chibok Girls Ambassadors’ would stage a
solidarity rally for the missing schoolgirls.
The rally, according to Shehu, would commence by 10 am
today from Unity Fountain to strategic places in Abuja such
as the Three Arms Zone, Maitama, Wuse and other places to
call attention to the need to rescue the missing girls.
Also showing their support, about 900 Bangladeshi students
yesterday stood in solidarity with the BBOG group in Nigeria,
creating the hashtag #EndChildMarriage.
In a picture posted on the twitter handle of @WGLBangladesh,
it showed girls with cut out papers spelling out 'Bring Back
Our Girls' at the Tillagaon High School, in Kuluara,
Mouivibazar, Bangladesh.
In the same vein, Nobel Peace laureate, 17-year-old Malala
Yousafzai wrote a letter to the Chibok girls, where she
lamented that both the Nigerian government and international
community had failed them.
She said: “In my opinion, Nigerian leaders and the
international community have not done enough to help you.
They must do much more to help secure your release. I am
among many people pressuring them to make sure you are
freed.
“Nigerian forces are re-gaining territory and protecting more
schools. Nigeria’s newly elected president, Muhammadu
Buhari, has vowed to make securing your freedom a top
priority and promised his government will not tolerate violence
against women and girls.
“I look forward to the day I can hug each one of you, pray
with you and celebrate your freedom with your families. Until
then, stay strong and never lose hope. You are my heroes.”
Also in Lagos today, the Women for Peace and Justice group,
one of the foremost groups championing the cause of the
missing girls, would hold a briefing and a rally to mark the
one-year anniversary.
According to information by Temitope Olajiga, the rally will
kick off at Falomo roundabout between 6 pm and 8 pm.
Also speaking on the missing girls, President-elect
Muhammadu Buhari said the incoming administration of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) would do all in its powers to
defeat Boko Haram, but could not guarantee that the girls
would be rescued by his government.
The president-elect had while speaking in an interview with
journalists after casting his vote during last Saturday's
governorship and state assembly elections in his home state,
Katsina, warned Boko Haram elements to “pack their bags and
leave the country before he assumes office on May 29”,
adding that they will be wiped out.
Similarly, in a statement issued on Monday and signed by
Buhari from his home town at Daura in Katsina, the president-
elect said his government would not only defeat Boko Haram
militarily but would go ahead and provide improved
educational opportunities as a direct counter-balance to Boko
Haram’s twisted ideology.
The statement marking the first anniversary of the kidnapping
of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, assured the parents of the
girls that the incoming APC administration would demonstrate
a rare commitment to rid this nation of terror.
“I want to assure all of them, and particularly the parents,
that when my new administration takes office at the end of
May, we will do everything we can to defeat Boko Haram.
“We will act differently from the government we replace: we
hear the anguish of our citizens and intend to respond
accordingly.
“This new approach must also begin with honesty. We do not
know if the Chibok girls can be rescued,” he said.
Buhari said the inability to give firm assurance on the rescue
of the girls stemmed from the fact that at the moment their
whereabouts remained unknown.
“As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find
them. But I say to every parent, family member and friend of
the children that my government will do everything in its
power to bring them home.
“What I can pledge, with absolute certainty, is that starting on
the first day of my administration Boko Haram will know the
strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this
nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the
affected areas.
“Boko Haram means Western Education is Sinful. When they
are defeated militarily, as they will be, we will ensure our
citizens in the affected areas have improved educational
opportunities as a direct counter-balance to Boko Haram’s
twisted ideology.
“In particular, we will educate even more young girls ensuring
they are empowered as citizens of Nigeria.
“Today, we remember the kidnapping of 276 girls from a
school in Chibok one year ago. This crime has rightly caused
outrage both in Nigeria and across the world.
“Today is a time to reflect on the pain and suffering of the
victims, their friends and families. Our thoughts and prayers,
and that of the whole Nigerian nation, are with you today.
“Let us use this anniversary to remind one another that the
attack on Chibok was an attack on the dreams and
aspirations of our young people.
“We stand united in our pledge to resist terror in Nigeria – not
just through military means but also through the power of
opportunity and the hope of a better future for all,” he said.
Meanwhile, speculations remain rife about the whereabouts of
the girls as the BBC yesterday quoted a woman as stating
that 50 of them were seen alive in Gwoza three weeks ago.
According to BBC, the woman who was unnamed said she
saw the girls in Gwoza town, Borno State, before the Boko
Haram militants were driven out of there by regional forces.
The Nigerian woman, who lived under Boko Haram’s rule in
Gwoza, told the BBC she saw the girls in Islamic attire, being
escorted by the militants.
“They said they were Chibok girls kept in a big house,” said
the woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of
reprisals.
“We just happened to be on the same road with them,” she
added.
Three other women also told the BBC they had seen the girls
in Gwoza.
Boko Haram was believed to have turned Gwoza into its
headquarters after it captured the town in August 2014.
Nigeria's military, backed by troops from neighbouring
countries, recaptured the town last month.
The militants were suspected to have fled to the nearby
Mandara Mountains, near the border with Cameroun. It is
unclear whether the girls are with them there.
Another woman told the BBC she last saw some of the girls in
November at a Boko Haram camp in Bita village, also in the
North-east.
“About a week after they were brought to the camp, one of us
peeked through a window and asked: ‘Are you really the
Chibok girls?’ and they said: ‘Yes’. We believed them and
didn't ask them again,” the woman said.
“They took Koranic lessons, cleaned their compound, cooked
for themselves and they braided each others’ hair. They were
treated differently - their food (was) better and water clean.”