Boko Haram terror: Does Buhari have what it takes to rescue Chibok girls? (photos, video)

Like a nightmare from which a person cannot awake, the abduction of the Chibok girls on the night of April 14-15, 2014, has continued to haunt Nigeria. NAIJ.com takes a critical look at their sojourn in the den of the terrorists.

The insurgent Boko Haram sect attacked a government boarding school in Borno state two years ago, seizing the girls who had gone to write an exam – that has remained a riddle which both the previous Nigerian government and the present administration have failed to unravel.

Chibok girls as shown in the Boko Haram video, May 2014.

Video series and social media madness

Shortly after the girls were abducted by the jihadist group, a video was released of them and a demand for a prisoner exchange was made. Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Islamist group, said the girls had converted to Islam and he threatened to force them into marriage with his fighters or sell them into slavery.

About 130 of the girls, many of whom are Christians, were seen in the video gathered together reciting the Quran.

As in many other cases of this nature, Nigeria and indeed the world goes to sleep, or turns a blind eye until something new and dramatic springs up. Hence, Nigerians and the world were jolted out of their slumber when on Wednesday, April 13, a new video of about 15 of the girls went viral.

The video is said to have been filmed on Christmas Day 2015. It showed the girls pleading with the Nigerian government to co-operate with the militants over their release.

They said they were being treated well but wanted to be with their families.

An activist protesting the girls’ kidnap

Two mothers, Rifkatu Ayuba and Mary Ishaya, said they recognised their daughters in the video while a third mother, Yana Galang, identified five of the missing girls, Reuters reported.

They were shown the video at a screening organised by local officials in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

“They were definitely our daughters… all we want is for the government to bring back our girls,” said Mrs Galang.

Blame games and conspiracy theories

Rather than seek lasting solutions to problems, Nigerians are in the habit of laying claims, making excuses and pointing fingers. The blame game was certainly played in the case of the Chibok girls.

Many blamed the alleged incompetence of the immediate past administration led by Dr Goodluck Jonathan, for the failure to help the Chibok girls.

The girls were forcefully converted to Islam immediately after the abduction.

Some accuse the ex-president Goodluck Jonathan of abandoning the girls for about 19 days after their abduction. They say Jonathan failed to call a single official to make enquiries regarding the incident.

On the other side of the political divide, there are claims that the whole abduction was a ploy aimed at marring Jonathan’s reputation.

Ayo Fayose, the governor of Ekiti state, has claimed that the story of the abduction of the Chibok girls was a mere political fabrication meant to oust ex-president Goodluck Jonathan from the office at all costs.

He has accused the federal government of deceiving Nigerians over the alleged missing schoolgirls, alleging that the All Progressives Congress used the situation to defeat Jonathan.

Whatever the truth, it is sad that politics in Nigeria seems to be played at the expense of the lives of the masses.

It took a couple of months for parents and activists to collate the photos and the names of the missing girls.

Brides and killers

As Shekau earlier claimed, there are reports that the Chibok girls have been forced into marriage with members of Boko Haram, with a “bride price” of N2,000 each ($12.50, £7.50).

Many of the girls were reportedly taken to the neighbouring countries of Chad and Cameroun, with sightings reported of the students crossing borders with the militants, and sightings of the students by villagers living in the Sambisa forest.

More worrying are stories that many of the abducted girls are being used as suicide bombers; trained killers.

The use of the child bombers by the deadly Boko Haram sect is on the rise, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) reports.

Sources have claimed that the young girls fight to strap on a bomb, not because they were brainwashed by their captors’ violent indoctrination methods but because of the relentless hunger and sexual abuse.

According to CNN, the constant shelling by the army and the ill-treatment the girls receive often become too much to bear, and they choose to die rather than live in terror.

READ ALSO: Good news: Nigeria sends Chibok parents to Cameroon on verification mission

Failed rescue attempts, poor bargaining power

Although 276 girls were abducted from the secondary school in northeastern Nigeria by the militant Islamist group, as the months passed about 57 students managed to escape. At least 219 are still missing.

Some parents have reportedly received strange calls from their kidnapped daughters. The anxious parents called back the lines but were told off and even threatened by the respondents at the other end.

There have several other cases of one or two girls breaking free from their captives, and there have also been military attempts to rescue the abducted girls, but all such attempts have been futile.

Several demands of hostage fees for the girls have been reported, with some outrageous sums stipulated as the price. A few days back, the Telegraph reported that Boko Haram terrorists are ready to exchange the missing Chibok girls for about N10 billion.

Two years gone but not forgotten – never forgotten. There is still hope the Chibok girls are alive.

The report says the deal was discussed in secret with President Muhammadu Buhari who is reportedly willing to trade. However, the federal government of Nigeria has denied the media reports, stating that such reports are not new and that the government will hurriedly make statements regarding any alleged deal to be brokered with Boko Haram.

The mass kidnap from Chibok community came as a surprise to the army and the security agencies.

Buhari’s dilemma, beyond words and thoughts

Boko Haram has been described as President Buhari’s and indeed Nigeria’s greatest dilemma. In such a very short period of time, the sect has wreaked great havoc which may take decades to repair. The Chibok girls’ case sits like icing on the cake of terror which the group has fed Nigeria for close to seven years since the insurgency began in 2009.

In the past the jihadists secretly swapped hostages for Boko Harm members or relatives in prison, but this abduction and the surging wave of publicity that has trailed it, came as the group was growing in strength and capturing territory.

Captives from the villages they were taking over were generally put to work, the boys as fighters and women and girls often made to become wives of men in the group.

Amnesty International says about 2,000 children have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2014. Many are used as sex slaves, fighters and even suicide bombers.

Nigerian troops have continued on the offensive against the sect, recording many victories. Towns have been retaken and villages controlled by Boko Haram have been reclaimed, with hundreds of women and children previously held captive freed.

However, many are of the opinion that if the Chibok girls are not found and returned to their loved ones, the shadow of terror will continue to haunt Africa’s most populous nation.

Below is a video of the two years remembrance rally:

READ ALSO: Rivers of blood: Amaechi, Wike and a history of violence (pictured)

The government of the United States of America has said it will not give up on the Chibok girls. Reassuring Nigerians that efforts are on-going to locate and rescue the Chibok girls, the US says it is providing a range of security assistance to Nigeria, and has stepped up information-sharing efforts.

Though the many promises are enticing, still fears linger even as the presidency has cast doubt on whether the 219 Chibok girls will be reunited with their parents.

Beyond having the girls in his thoughts, and holding marches to commemorate the anniversary of their abduction, the president needs to apply every strategy possible to ensure that the girls are brought back home.

And when they return, if they ever return as we pray, Nigeria as a nation and the world must also be prepared for the healing process, for one can only imagine the trauma of their experience, and at some point say the prayer “deliver us from all evil”.

As the media frenzy continues in reaction to the rekindled hope that the Chibok girls are alive, Nigerians can only pray that this government can #BringBackOurGirls.

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