I don’t know if Mr. President will be contesting in next year’s presidential election but there are indications that he will. I have seen some adverts showcasing his achievements so far. One advert even compares the president with Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Lee Kuan Yew, Barack Obama and probably others. That particular advert is indeed an audacious one but I don’t think it has achieved its purpose because I have observed that whenever the advert is aired on TV, those I am with almost always are not amused. So it may be safe to conclude that the adverts are part of the moves being made to secure re-election for the president. I don’t know if the president, his advisers, his party and political associates have ever thought that the current Boko Haram crisis may be a moral and political burden for both the president and the PDP.
It’s over 80 days now that
the innocent schoolgirls were abducted form Chibok and the government has
failed to liberate them. It is reported that seven among the parents of the
girls have died. All the government has been able to do since the event has
been to assure Nigerians that the girls will be rescued. The Chibok abduction
has gained worldwide attention, and all over the world, the kidnapping has been
condemned with passionate rescue the girls. There is even a dedicated Wikipedia
page for the kidnapping:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibok_schoolgirl_kidnapping
While some Nigerians have
taken it upon themselves to pressurise the government on a daily basis to secure
the girls’ freedom, the government has not demonstrated enough seriousness about bringing back the girls. In fact, the (in)actions of the government
have brought opprobrium to our nation, going by the comments of foreigners who
seem to be more concerned about the safety of these girls than our government
and sadly, some Nigerians. These are some of the critical comments that have
been made concerning the abduction:
Boko Haram's strength
"appears to be increasing. The government's ability to provide security to
its citizens appears to be decreasing." - Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell
"The failure of the
government to even to get a clear count further reinforces a perception of
systemic governmental failure that plays into the narrative not only of Boko
Haram, but also other dissident groups opposing Nigeria's constitutional
order." - J. Peter Pham,
Director of the Atlantic Council's Africa Center
“Perhaps the worst aspect of
the Nigerian government’s handling of the abduction is its seeming indifference
to the plight of the girls’ families. It took more than two weeks before Mr
Jonathan addressed the matter in public. His government’s sluggish response and
its failure even to clarify how many girls had been abducted provoked protests
in several cities across Nigeria—itself an unusual event.” - The Economist
“If (the U.S.) knew where
the kidnapped girls were, I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them,
in a New York minute I would, without permission of the host country. I
wouldn’t be waiting for some kind of permission from some guy named Goodluck
Jonathan.” - Senator John
McCain
“We have never called the
United Nations to guard our security. Me, Yoweri Museveni to say that I have
failed to protect my people and I call on the UN: I would rather hang myself.
We prioritized national security by developing a strong Army, otherwise our
Uganda would be like DRC, South Sudan, Somalia or Nigeria where militias have
disappeared with school children.” - President
Yoweri Museveni of Uganda
The major aim of this
write-up is to ask President Goodluck Jonathan how he will go about his
campaign for president if he fails to bring back the girls. Will Mr. President
go to Borno State to campaign? Or will he stay away from the state? If he stays
away from Borno, how is it going to look like? If he decides to campaign in
Borno, what will he tell the people of the state? Even if the girls are found
and brought back, knowing what they would have gone through, will the president
have the moral justification to face the people of the state to ask for their
votes? What will he tell them? Will he tell them that if they vote him in for a
second term, he will ensure that the girls are brought back? Or will he tell
them he deserves a second term for bringing back their children after many days
in the bush? How will the president go around the nation with the Boko Haram
albatross around his neck? Will he be able to convince Nigerians that he will
be able to protect the territorial integrity of our nation if a well-organised
foreign army comes against our nation? Does the president ever think about how
much damage the Chibok schoolgirls abduction has done, is doing and will do to
his campaign? Does he think he will win in a free and fair election?
Whatever the president’s
answers to my questions may be and whether he will contest for a second term or
not, he should please bring back our
girls.
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