Buhari spoke at the ongoing
campaigning for the release of Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped
“I think you will agree
that the present government take the issue very seriously. Within a week of
being sworn in, I visited Niger, Chad and would have visited Cameroon but for
the invitation of the G7 to go to Germany and listen to them. I’m very
impressed with the leadership of this important group (G7) other than the
United Nations itself. They are very concerned about the security in Nigeria
led by abduction of the Chibok girls by the terrorists.
President Buhari who gave a
detailed account of the efforts to end insurgency in Nigeria however assured
the country that all hopes were not lost.
“When the terrorists
announced their loyalty to ISIS, the whole attention again was brought squarely
to Nigeria. And now we are rated with Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria , this is
very unfortunate.
“After Ramadan, I will
visit Cameroon to see the President there and then Benin Republic. But on the
efforts we have been making, we will not disclose some of them publicly because
it will not be consistent with security. But I assure you that under the Lake
Chad Basin Commission, the military have met. The ministers of defence have
met. We the presidents have met here in Abuja except the President of Cameroon
who was represented by his Minister of Defence.
“Strategy and tactics have
been drawn. Multinational taskforce has been put in place more or less with
headquarters in Ndjamina with a Nigerian General as Commander. The troops
delegated by each of the countries are to be put in place by the end of the month.
And Nigeria, I assure you will do its best because we as I said are the battle
ground and we are being helped by our neighbours”, he said.
The president also
regretted that Nigerian army known for its military finesse in the sub African
region has been unable to rout out the Boko haram in Nigeria.
“It is paradoxical what the
Nigerian military has achieved from Burma to Zaire to Liberia to Sierra Leon to
Sudan. But Nigeria has now to be helped by Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
“We will do our best to
restore the respectability of our country and its institutions. And with you,
your steadfastness and your seriousness, we will do what we can do. We will
accommodate all your observations including the negative ones about the
performance of the government and its agencies”, he said.
“At the G7, the leadership
there asked us for our shopping list which I’m still compiling. The military
has submitted theirs and I’m waiting for the governments of the front line
states to submit theirs local government by local government in terms of
infrastructure, schools, health care, roads, markets, churches, mosques and so
on.”
*The Federal Government
should spare no resources in urgently rescuing our 219 Chibok Girls as promised
by the President and the National Security Adviser of the President at various
times. Our Federal Government has the constitutional duty to give justice to
our Chibok Girls by ensuring their immediate rescue. The rescue of OUR Chibok Girls will amount to
the strongest statement that our Government has respect for the “Sanctity and
Dignity of Every Nigerian Life.
*An apology for the failure
of governance that led to the abduction.
*An apology for the failure
of governance that caused failure to rescue our girls for over 400 days.
*Strategies for curbing the
emergence, and growth of curious sects.
*Immediately set up a
structured feedback and communication system that is composed of the Federal
and Borno State Governments through designated security and ministerial
authorities, the parents of the abducted girls, the Chibok (KADA) community,
and citizens, through the BringBackOurGirls group. The feedback mechanism is so
the Parents and the public can have regular updates on efforts to rescue our
219 Chibok Girls.
The National Security
Adviser, Leaders of the Counter Insurgency Task Force, the Department of State
Security on one hand; and State Governments of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, aided
and supported by Local Authorities and Traditional Leaders, on the other hand
and the representatives of abduction victims on the other hand.
The Team should be tasked
with credible implementation of the VARS. The primary task of the Team shall be
to work with every abducted victim’s family and community to accurately
ascertain the true identity of such individuals and following their accurate
identification to make available the comprehensive program for Recovery,
Rehabilitation Resettlement and Reintegration to the rescued citizens. We
advise that this system should be adopted for the 200 girls and 93 women
rescued on the 28th April 2015.
The rehabilitation,
resettlement and reintegration following their authentication should be
implemented by both the Borno State Government and the Federal Government that
make up the VARS Team and supported by development partners, NGOs and
public-spirited Nigerians. Our movement,
BringBackOurGirls, stands ready to support this initiative.
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