#BringBackOurGirls: Why Government Has Not Rescued Abducted Chibok Girls – Reuben Abati

Now I know why the government has refused to bring back the abducted Chibok girls. For a long time, many of us had wondered why it was so difficult for the government to rescue the girls. Despite the cries and agitations of Nigerians for the girls to be liberated from captivity, the government seemed unconcerned about their. Now I can safely conclude that the issue of the Chibok girls is not a top priority for the government and I will present my reasons for coming to this conclusion. Two weeks ago, Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, granted an interview in which he made some statements concerning the Chibok girls’ abduction and I was able to deduce from his statements that government is not serious about the girls’ case, at least for now. I reproduce below a part of that interview:

PUNCH: Talking about the abducted Chibok girls, they have been in captivity for over 100 days. How long will their parents continue to wait for them to be reunited with their children?

ABATI: President Jonathan met recently with the parents of the abducted girls, the girls that managed to escape as well as opinion and community leaders from the affected area. The President made it very clear to the parents that government is working very hard and security forces are also working very hard to ensure that the girls are brought back home.

Government’s priority is however not haste. Government’s priority is to ensure that these girls are brought back home safely. If there is anything that may jeopardise the operation, or result in the massacre of those girls, government will rather tread on the side of caution until it is able to make sure that those girls can be rescued safely.

The thing to note is that these same terrorists have boasted that if there is any kind of assault on them in a way they feel uncomfortable with, they will not hesitate to massacre the girls. We all want the girls back home safely; there is no question about that.

Do you understand Abati’s statement? Government is planning the kind of assault that Boko Haram is comfortable with. Yes, re-read the last paragraph of Abati’s response. I think the government is pretty relaxed about the whole issue and there must be reasons for that, don’t you think? How can the president’s spokesman say government’s priority is not haste, if there isn’t something the government knows that we mere mortals don’t? If the government is so sure that the girls’ captors will not harm them but wait till government wants them back, then there must be some behind-the-scene actions. The government is so sure that the girls are safe where they are and that nothing can go wrong in their abductors’ camp. Government is so sure that some of the abductors cannot get angry one day and decide to defile or do some unimaginable things to the girls. The government is so sure that the kidnappers cannot wake up one day and decide to sell the girls. The government is so sure that all the things many of us fear will never come to pass. 

This stance of the government leads me to ask some questions: Are we sure Abubakar Shekau does not have a direct line to the president? Are we sure Shekau is not in constant communication with the government and briefs the government about the state of the girls? Or why do you think the Abati is confident that the girls are still safe? Are we sure it is not the government’s plan to allow Boko Haram keep the girls in their custody until the government deems it appropriate to ‘secure’ their release, and when they feel the time is ripe, Boko Haram allows government to send in troops to stage a rescue mission, giving the government good publicity? Are we sure that while government might not have initially been a party to the abduction, it has not negotiated with Boko Haram to use the series of events as an election campaign stunt by arranging a rescue operation close to election period? These are the questions running through my mind based on Reuben Abati’s comments. But I hope you now realise why the government is not keen on bringing back our girls now.

P.S. You can read the whole interview with Reuben Abati at http://www.punchng.com/feature/hotseat/apc-is-playing-politics-with-chibok-girls-abduction-reuben-abati/