Is Buhari handling #ChibokGirls issue like Jonathan did?

One of the most difficult responsibilities passed on to the Muhammadu Buhari administration from the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan is to secure the release of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

A few of the girls have escaped in the last two years but majority are still missing and the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaigners are unrelenting as they strive to push the government to work on rescuing the missing girls.

So far, a lot of mistakes have been made and results have been far from encouraging. At the beginning of his administration, a lot of Nigerians had high hopes that President Buhari would work swiftly towards rescuing the Chibok girls.

One year and three months after, the narrative has not changed.

The girls have still not been reunited with their families and Boko Haram is still releasing videos as proof that the girls remain hostages. It makes one wonder if President Buhari has done anything differently to save the situation.

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Police Force denied BBOG campaigners access to the Presidential Villa.

The protest led by former minister and BBOG frontliner, Oby Ezekwesili met a brickwall when policemen and members of a pro-Buhari group “With Buhari we stand” stopped the campaigners midway into their march.

One of the police officers claimed they were acting under orders and that the protesters had no formal approval to carry out the protest.

It would be recalled that the BBOG campaigners have been in similar situations since the beginning of their campaign in 2014.

On several occasions, policemen barred them from reaching the Presidential Villa to see President Goodluck Jonathan. At the time, not only were they stopped by policemen, armed soldiers were also used to frustrate protests.

All talk, no action

The BBOG campaign frontliners have expressed their disappointment at President Buhari’s inaction despite endless promises to rescue the missing girls after two long years.

They have accused the president of putting the responsibility of the girls’ freedom on the terrorists, instead of taking decisive steps to make it happen.

This is not far off from former President Goodluck Jonathan’s approach.

The administration, at the time, did not immediately admit that the schoolgirls had been kidnapped. It took about 19 days after the act, after international communities had waded into the case before Jonathan’s government officially reacted.

Swap deal

The recent request Boko Haram made to have some of its members who are held in government custody released in exchange for the girls is not new.

When it was first suggested in the past administration, Jonathan resisted it and said his government would never negotiate with terrorists.

Much later, members of his government went into talks with some of the commanders of the insurgent group, but the talks failed at the final stage.

The insurgents have made the same request of the Buhari government now but unlike its predecessor, this government is seriously considering pulling off a swap deal.

BBOG campaigners and parents of the missing girls are putting the necessary pressure on President Buhari to go on with the deal without delay.

One comment

  1. @obyezeks Obvious he is! When are we going to grow up as a nation.

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