As embarrassing as it is, President Goodluck Jonathan’s appeal to the opposition, especially the Bring Back Our Girls campaigners, to refrain from politics and join hands with the federal government to facilitate the unconditional release of the Chibok girls abducted by insurgents five months ago rings hollow, and is hypocrisy that stinks to the high Heavens. This shame is made more painful because Jonathan, more than any other Nigerian stands guilty of politicizing the Chibok tragedy for partisan political advantage. Having advertised its gross incapacitation, having demonstrated in word and deed its cluelessness over the whereabouts of the abducted girls, the President’s admonition to opposition leaders therefore, is laughable and can only draw the cynical response; “look who is talking”! To garner some credibility for his administration and redeem himself, Jonathan must find a way to bring back the Chibok girls, however he plans to do it.
Speaking Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of the National Conference on Environmental Security, Awareness and Enforcement, organized by the House Committee on Environment, the President called on the opposition to stop what he described as “politicization of the abduction saga” and join hands with the government to solve the problem. “This moment demands that the insurgent lay down their arms; it demands the unconditional release of our abducted Chibok girls. I agree with the Bring Back our Girls campaigners, especially for piling up pressure on us on the issue. But let me be blunt, there are no neat or easy answers to bringing back the girls. I wish there were. But I can tell you that the wrong answer is to pretend that this problem will go away if we maintain an unsustainable status quo and silence,” noted the president who was represented at the event by Environment Minister, Laurentia Mallam. “I believe that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together. We will not be safe if we see national security as a wedge that divides us – it can and must be a cause that unites us as one people and as a nation,” he added.
When Nigerians woke up to the shocking news of the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok by Boko Haram, that incident stirred global outrage and attracted the sympathy of world leaders and citizens. From Cape to Cairo; Washington to London, humanity rose in outrage and demanded the return of the girls. Five months after, there is no sight of the girls. From Mr. President, it has been promises upon promises and no result, a reality that has called into question his competence and capacity to end the insurgency. Certainly, there is everything wrong with the way Jonathan has handled the Chibok crisis.
That Jonathan is yet to visit Chibok five months after the abduction of the girls reflects the moral burden his administration is saddled with. This apathy was fittingly demonstrated by the President himself, when, in an embarrassing turn-around, he cancelled a widely publicized planned trip to the town, where he was expected to sympathize with the families of the abducted girls. Had he made the trip, he would have, in concrete terms, given the best re-assurance to Nigerians that he is in charge of all Nigeria and cares about all of her people. As the Commander-in-Chief, the President owes the hurting people of Chibok a moral duty to see them. He needed to send a strong message to Nigerians that he not only cares as their President; he has full command of the war on terror. But as in other areas of national life when circumstances furnish Jonathan the opportunity to roar, he whimpers.
Beyond the slow, tacky and inept government response however, the irreverent blame game between politicians, is a pointer to the fact that Nigerian leaders are yet to imbibe statesmanship in the midst of collective suffering. Despite the President’s preachments about the imperative of a united Nigeria, a very telling situation that became a national embarrassment was when Jonathan tacitly endorsed the obnoxious “BringBackGoodluck2015” campaign, which deliberately mimicked the “BringBackOurGirls” hashtag slogan with which Nigerians and the world have been rallying for the freedom of the abducted Chibok girls. It was a callous and inappropriate campaign tag which exposed the insensitivity of the pro-Jonathan campaigners to the pains of Nigerians and cast Jonathan in the worst of light. For a President who has stubbornly refused to visit Chibok despite all entreaties, parodying the “BringBackOurGirls” campaign tag for his re-election was a new low; a crude assault on the emotions of Nigerians and the global community that has shared the pain of the still missing girls.
Jolted by international outrage, Jonathan who denied knowledge of the “BringBackGoodluck2015” campaign dissociated himself from the callousness, and ordered the removal of the offensive billboards, which had adorned many parts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. But the matter does not end there. Too much pain was inflicted and certain points need to be made. One is that the quality of leadership in Nigeria was exposed, in spectacular version, to the whole world. Secondly, the incident compelled a deeper reflection on the moral depth of the President’s character. Most importantly, when will the Chibok girls be free? In other words, when will the government bring back our girls?
At this juncture, what Nigerians would like to know is when efforts are being made to bring back the girls. A situation where innocent children are kidnapped from school for five months and government continues as if nothing happened is unacceptable. Nigerians are looking unto their President to rally forces and free the girls and save the country from further agony. In addition to wiping away the tears of a nation, bringing them back will be more politically rewarding for the President than the hypocritical admonitions to opposition politicians against politicizing an issue which Jonathan, more than anyone else has shamelessly and expediently exploited with the utmost rapacity.
Their attempt to put a spin on the narrative, friday, by affirming that a cease fire has been reached with Boko Haram and the 200 plus girls will be released soon, seems to have fallen apart. Since the proclamation of a cease fire, there have been five attacks and dozens killed. The government has said Boko Haram was not responsible for the attacks. If the Boko Haram sect is not behind the recent attacks, who is? Was there really a cease fire or is this another political publicity stunt? Nigerians are watching!!!
