Dear President,
As young global leaders we would like to express our deep concern about the recent situations in Nigeria.
The massacre in Baga has been Boko Haram’s deadliest so far and what has it met with? Your silence. Most disturbing still is the fact that you would send a message to France condemning the killings there, yet seem unable to address the Nigerian people who look to you for leadership. Unfortunately, it would not be the first time. On 10 November 2014 a suicide bomber killed 47 people and injured 79 others. The following day, with barely a mention of this horrific incident targetting children, you launched your re-election campaign.
And despite the ease with which you move on, even you will remember the abduction of the schoolgirls in Chibok in April last year. It was 40 days before you addressed the country on that occasion. Nigerians waited, perplexed, as your government debated whether or not the abductions had even taken place. As a result, of all the girls captured, only 52 have secured their freedom – escaping on their own. The rest are still in captivity, still waiting to be rescued, 276 days after being taken from their friends, family and community.
Could it be that your government also doubts that the Baga attacks happened? Amnesty International’s satellite images confirm that indeed a massacre took place, and as many as 2000 people are dead. Yet your army wastes time contesting the numbers.
Whether 150 or 2000, we’d like to hear from you on your governments plans to secure the region and to bear witness to the loss of lives in Baga. We have seen a clear incompetency in handling matters of national interest. In the context of existing ethnic and religious fault lines, silence only says that Nigeria’s government does not care about the victims and is not dealing with the insurgency.
True the global community has also failed to maintain pressure on your government that seems ambivalent about fulfilling its constitutional role to secure the lives and properties of its citizens.
As 1.5 million Nigerians flee their homes, swelling camps within Nigeria and overwhelming border communities’ (if not same as before), it seems the only hope to see you act is global outrage. It was this that finally forced you to address the nation and the world 40 days after the Chibok abductions. It was only then that you reached out to other countries and, with their help, agree a plan for a regional security force to secure the porous borders between Nigeria, Niger and Chad where Boko Haram roams undeterred.
Perhaps, had international pressure been sustained last year, a multi-regional force would have been based in Baga as planned. Perhaps it would have been strong enough to repel Boko Haram when the militants attacked on 3 January. Perhaps 2000 lives could have been saved.
But Isis happened and the world moved on, leaving a small national military unit to stand between thousands of armed militants and a town of ten thousand people. We now know what happened. The world has seen pictures of bodies still strewn around the forest and river where they died.
If these deaths do not generate the attention, outcry and action that they ought to, we can only prepare the ground for more bodies because Boko Haram shows no sign of relenting. The insurgents can be defeated but first you must decide if the lives of Nigerians are worth it or not.
Break the silence, Mr. President. Call for global attention and support to avert a crisis that begins to echo the early days of the Rwandan genocide. Be the voice for the thousands of innocent people who have died and the millions who yearn for peace. They have the right to rebuild their communities and claim their place in the unfolding rise of the African continent.
Hafsat Abiola-Costello
Founder/President Kudirat Initiative for democracy
Nigeria
Co-Signatories
Arnaud Ventura, France
Bjarte Reve, Norway
Binta Niambi Brown, USA
Erik Charas, Mozambique
Funmi Iyanda, Nigeria
Georgie Bernadette, USA
Jacqueline Musiitwa, Zambia
Loulwa Bakr, Saudi Arabia
Leo Shlesinger, Chile
Marieme Jamme, Senegal
Mark Turrell, Germany
Rossana Figuera, USA
Salim Amin, Kenya
Soulaima Gourani, Denmark
Susan Mashibe, Tanzania
Tara Fela Durotoye, Nigeria
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My president lack leadership quality,this govermemt is the worst in Nigeria's history,president Jonathan dont have human feeling;pls fellow nigerians lets vote out this heaetless presidenr because instead of him taking responsibitiy for his failure he is blaming others.
ReplyDelete...go n kill ur mother den wait for GEJ to do d burial.
DeleteWhen people who are profound and people who are shallow minded write, or air their views about issues, its very easy to spot the huge difference. Anonymous didn't you read the letter? Did you see anyone throwing insults? I bet you can't even manage or oversee the affairs of a house of 5persons talk less if a nation. It's people like you that are core problems to humanity.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree totally I think he has feelings but he's just Weak, Indecisive Slow being(pardon me). There are pple like that for real, not all of us human are smart technically! for real so I think he belongs to those groups.
ReplyDeleteA leader, a good one, should be able to discern informations, he must be able to sieve the chafts from the message not just reacting/acting on hear say or following some advisers scripts/instructions or advice cause its evident that what GEJ does he doesn't seem to have a mind of his own.
We need less say that this man is demon possessed. The blood oath he has taken will not allow him to condemn any blood letting immediately; from anticident. He is so full of lies and has so much fed Satan with much blood like no other leader in the world. That has been his source of strength. We need to really pray for God's mercy and grace to deliver us from this bondage. The election is not enough to deliver us unknown to many but God will. He has already offered the needed blood for the election. The only truth.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are so comical. Mr President just came back from Maiduguri yesterday and you are writing rubbish letter. How mischievous can you guys be to score cheap political point.
ReplyDeleteCheap political point to sway leaders. The man just visited Maiduguri.
ReplyDeleteAPC IS HAS DESCENDED TO THEIR LOWEST IN MALIGNINV MR PRESIDENT.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that Mr President must not respond to issues the way you want.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that there is international conspiracy against Nigeria or should I say against Jonathan's administration. If not why did Niger and Chad withdraw there troops from the joint military force stationed against insurgency shortly before Baga was attacked by BokoHaram? We should begin to look at the issue as something beyond Nigeria and not GEJ. I agree he is the President and he is in a possition to provide secutrity. But the summary of the whole evil game is this, vested interest from some major world superpowers with the support of neighboring African Francophone leaders and some idiots from Northern Nigeria are fighting the people of Nigeria. I believe in the recent revelation by The former senate President Iyocha Ayu who revealed in his paper presentation in Ado Ekiti that some French oil companies together with the Chadian authorities and selfish Nigerian business men are behind Boko haram because of the posibility pof occurence of crude oil/natural gas the Chad basin with extends to Lake Chad in Nigeria. Their aim is simple to annex lake Chad. This they can only do by creating war in Nigeria for Nigerians and divert attention while they go ahead to take over the potential oil field. I think that the Chadian government is not sincere in their collaboration with the GEJ's government. And the also I think tha the French oil big boys are the representative of the Western power government. America is aware of this so they have decided to not hurt the French authority so there is no global collaboration against Bokoharam unlike what they are doing against ISIS
ReplyDelete