Kids in red shirts, holding numbered placards on which the names of the Chibok schoolgirls are boldly written, marching on the Ministry of Education.
With them were some of the girls who escaped in the night of horror on April 14, last year when Boko Haram insurgents hussled the over 200 pupils off their dormitories into trucks and drove them away into captivity.
The world was horrified; it still is —one year after.
Parents of the Chibok Girls Secondary School, Borno State, girls yesterday said they were hoping President-elect Muhamadu Buhari would find their daughters.
Gen Buhari will take office on May 29 and one of the burning issues he will inherit from the outgoing Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration is the abduction.
Yesterday, there were activities in Abuja, Lagos and in some other major capitals across the world to mark the anniversary of the abduction which attracted worldwide outrage, especially when Boko Haram claimed responsibility and showed a video of the girls in captivity with sect leader Abubakar Shekau saying he would sell them off.
In Abuja, there were news conferences. In Lagos, Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka attended an event, where foremost economist Prof. Pat Utomi spoke.
A representative of the girls’ parents, Rev. Mark Enoch, declared yesterday their faith in Gen. Buhari and his ability to rescue the 219 girls alive.
He said things would be better because Gen. Buhari has the ability to destroy the Boko Haram sect like he destroyed the Maitasine Movement in 1984.
Rev. Enoch spoke on behalf of Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), the umbrella body of the Chibok community in Abuja. His address was titled: “One year commemoration of the abduction of #Chibokgirls: the unending agony of a community.”
He said: “I know that as General Buhari is now the president-elect, things will be better. He can rescue our daughters, he can bring our daughters back home. He can end all the atrocities of the Boko Haram sect like he addressed the Maitasine movement in 1984 and our girls will return, so we the Chibok girls’ parents are excited.
“I will like to appreciate Madam Oby Ezekwesilli and members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy. They are the Mandelas of our time.”
KADA, in a statement signed by its National Secretary Battah Ndirpaya; National Publicity Secretary Dr. Manasseh Allen and Chairman KADA Abuja, Tsambido Hosea, said despite the gloomy picture of what is happening in their community before and after the abduction, they are still hopeful that the girls will come back home alive.
They said: “After the abduction, Chibok area was attacked six times with resultant high causalities, including 11 of the parents and guardians of the abducted girls. The people of Chibok are today haunted, displaced, traumatised and living in agony as refugees or internally displaced persons all over Nigeria and refugees beyond. There is also a looming famine in the Chibok (Kibaku) community and environs as a result of the terrorism that has virtually crippled farming activities. Wanton destruction of food stuff, granaries and livestock was perpetrated by the insurgents. There was also poisoning or destruction of water wells, the primary source of water for the community.
“Despite the gloomy picture of what is happening in the community, we are still hopeful that our girls will come back alive. We are hoping that Mr. President will keep his word by brining the girls back alive before leaving office on 29 May.. Even if he fails to achieve it, we are hopeful that the president-elect will bring back our girls alive.
“In the abduction saga, it is true that the girls are the victims, the parents and guardians are suffering the agony, trauma and pains, but the embarrassment is that of the government and the people of Nigeria, while the military suffered humiliation. We urge all to come together and find a lasting solution to this saga so as to save our face as a country.”
Members of the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy also said they appreciated Gen. Buhari for “his kind and soothing words” on the occasion of the one year commemoration and his promise to do everything to bring back the girls.
The group demanded the safe return of the girls as a major engagement during the transition between the Jonathan and the Buhari administrations.
The #BBOG described the Chibok girls as global symbols for the defence of the dignity and sanctity of human life, of the girl child, women, for those oppressed, repressed, disadvantaged, hurting and unsafe persons everywhere and they will continue to advocate for their return until everyone of the girl is accounted for.
The group spoke at a news conference in Abuja to commemorate the one year anniversary of the abduction. The statement signed by Dr. Oby Ezekwesilli and Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman on behalf of the group, said:
“Today, 14 April, 2015 is that dreadful day we never imagined will come without having back our missing precious 219 Chibok schoolgirls, abducted exactly one year ago today.
“Our #ChibokGirls are the global symbol for the defence of the dignity and sanctity of human life; of the girl a child, women, for all those oppressed, repressed, disadvantaged, hurting, unsafe persons everywhere. As long as they stay missing, it means nothing is as yet working. We must all prioritise their safe return.
“We thank Nigeria’s president-elect for his kind and soothing words on the occasion of this one-year commemoration; wherein he promises, among other things, to do everything he can to #BringBackOurGirls when he becomes the president, if they are still alive. However, this does not address our concerns. We demand that the safe return of our girls be the top agenda of the transition between the present and the incoming one.
“We have just concluded a march by #ChibokGirlsAmbassadors (part of the global schoolgirl march). We express our immense gratitude to our #ChibokGirlsAmbassadors for being the right voices to carry the message of their generational peers on a day like this.
“We have been demanding for the last nearly one year but nothing is more remarkable than having peers of our missing schoolgirls carry out an exclusive activity for their cause. This is a generation that will grow with a well-developed sense of humanity, of standing for others, and also demanding accountability from their leaders. We also thank their parents and guardians for not only allowing, but encouraging them to participate. Your efforts in raising kind, caring as well as responsible girls shall never be in vain.”
The group also reiterated and renewed their year-long demand to the United Nations, which states:
“That the UN should, through its relevant agencies, deploy relevant instruments in ensuring the prompt rescue of our Chibok girls and other abductees, as well as improve the security situation in the country.
“Escalate and process the request of the Chibok nation for the help of independent private investigators. Call on world leaders and other members of the international community to reactivate their support for the #BringBackOurGirls cause and push it back as a prioritised discourse because the only logical closure to this issue would be when our girls have been brought back and insurgency becomes a thing of the past.
“We are a non-partisan civic movement and therefore shall continue to advocate and demand for justice for our 219 Chibok girls. Until our girls are rescued, our Movement will not stop. .”
Members of the Chibok girls ambassadors and members of the #BBOG advocacy staged a peaceful protest to the Ministry of Education to demand for the release of the girls and demand to know what the ministry was doing to assist with the rescue efforts.
Although the ministry locked them out for almost an hour, the children were later allowed into the premises. The ministry’s Director, Human Resources Management, Mohammed Umar, met with the group. The girls gave an ultimatum of May 29 to rescue the girls. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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After 1yr... am i the only one not believing in this stuff??
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