2 years after: Chibok community still weeps for missing daughters

It was Thursday, April 14, two years after the infamous abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State. The parents of the girls gathered in the small town to mark the second anniversary of the unfortunate incident. Looking miserable and disappointed, some of them openly expressed their disgust at the failure by the […]

It was Thursday, April 14, two years after the infamous abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State. The parents of the girls gathered in the small town to mark the second anniversary of the unfortunate incident. Looking miserable and disappointed, some of them openly expressed their disgust at the failure by the federal government to secure the release of their daughters.
Despite media hype on efforts to rebuild the Government Secondary School, Chibok, where the girls were abducted, there is nothing there to show any sign of commitment, except a pile of blocks left on the premises. The school remains what it was in the aftermath of the attack, as destroyed classrooms and other structures have not been built.
About the efforts to rebuild the school, Bulama Jonah, who is a public relations officer of the parents’ association, said no commitment was shown towards reconstructing the school despite visits and promises by government officials.
 Soon after the anniversary event at the GSS, Chibok, the convoys of influential persons, including the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima and the Minister of Environment, Aisha Mohammed, headed for Maiduguri while the parents and relatives from Chibok and surrounding areas gathered at the residence of Lawan Zanna, about one kilometer from the school.
 More than a hundred men and women squatted or stood in the compound as they listened to short reassuring speeches from their comrades while wrapper and N5000 cash were shared among them as gifts from the government. Beneficiaries received the token with appreciation, but their faces were gloomy.
“Government gave us 600 bags of rice, 100 bags of sugar, 300 wrappers and N5000 each. We appreciate this donation, but nobody here is in the mood to celebrate the donation in the usual way like chanting praises, whistling or open show of happiness. This is because we want to hear about our beloved daughters who were abducted by terrorists two years ago,” a parent who did not want to reveal his identity said.
 One of the parents, Bulama Jonah, whose 18-year-old daughter, Amina, is among the abducted Chibok girls, prayed to live and see the return of his daughter. He said it was tragic that some parents died without seing their children. According to him, 17 parents have died since the incident. He called on the Buhari administration to do more in its efforts to defeat Boko Haram and rescue their captives, adding that families were in confusion as government was yet to provide any information on the whereabouts of the girls.
Reading out from his old pocket notebook in which he recorded important dates and events since the abduction, including their visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, Jonah gave the name of 15 out of the 17 deceased parents as: Stover Mainta, Mainta Yahi, Mutah Sakwa, Haruna Thilaimakalama, Watsai Papu, James Bello, Usman Uffa, Nuhu Mutah, Musa Higwar, Mutah Haruna,  Solomi Yama, Mrs. William Askira, Ali Nkiki, Mary Paul Lalai and Malam Koji. He said the remaining two died recently and he was yet to ascertain their names.
Jonah said he had been at a loss on why the then federal government led by former President Goodluck Jonathan refused to take serious action. He tasked President Buhari to ensure a successful rescue of the girls.
 “Dr. Andrew Peacock said the United States had spotted 80 girls during the last administration, why did government fail to rescue them?” Jonah asked.
 He expressed dismay at comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“We heard that Obasanjo, at a point, said many of the girls were pregnant. And recently, we heard he concluded that the girls were dead and could not be found,” he stated.
 Ali Maiyanga Askira, who lost two daughters, Halima and Maryam, to the abduction incident, said he suspected complicity as staff members of the school evacuated their families before the attacks.
“I feel sad. It is painful to lose two daughters to criminals. There is an element of dishonesty and conspiracy in the whole issue. I believe there were internal conspirators among staff members of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok. This is because some members of staff who lived in the staff quarters evacuated their families from the school before the attack,” he stated.
He said that at a point in time, their confidence in the sincerity of the federal government waned, but with the coming of the Buhari administration and the improved security situation in the area, they have regained hope.
“During the last administration, we in the Askira area sometimes slept in the graveyard because we were scared of Boko Haram and military air strikes. The military planes targeted and killed so many civilians such that we feared the air raids more than the insurgents. In such situation, the hope of regaining our children was at its lowest. Since Buhari took over, the security situation in the Askira area has improved. Now we sleep without fear, and what we hear about the military action in Sambisa is giving us hope. We appeal to the government to intensify search for our daughters; we have been living in pain for the last two years”, Maiyanga added.
It was double tragedy for Rose Musa. Her husband was killed by Boko Haram insurgents after the abduction of her 16-year-old daughter, Jummai, at the Chibok school. She had earlier escaped the insurgents’ bullet when they attacked a congregation at a church in Kautikere village where seven people were killed.
“I was carrying the pregnancy of my last child, Asli, when my village was attacked. I was hiding in the bush when some women told me that my husband was killed on his way back to the village after a trip. I searched for his corpse and found him. Women buried the corpses of men. It was a terrible experience. And now, I am still suffering the abduction of  my daughter,” she said.
She said government needs to do more in the search for the girls as they are eagerly waiting to celebrate their return.
On her part, Gloria William from Bwalahyang, said the anniversary could be beneficial to the parents because officials and sympathisers made comforting speeches.
“The speech by the governor and other government officials from Abuja really gave me hope and made me believe that government has not forgotten our daughters. I feel that government is doing its best to get my daughter back to me,” she said.
The leader of the parents of the abducted girls, Yakubu Nkeke, who spoke earlier at the event, said they had gone through untold hardship and pain since the incident. He called on the authorities to intensify the rescue efforts.