Chibok girls: One ‘normality’ too many!

There is an adage that when abnormalities exist for so long they become the norm. This is ever so true in Nigeria of today. As our political class have repeatedly failed to manage our affairs decently we have learnt to survive by accepting their many aberrations as “normal”. This is mockingly referred to by foreigners […]

There is an adage that when abnormalities exist for so long they become the norm. This is ever so true in Nigeria of today.
As our political class have repeatedly failed to manage our affairs decently we have learnt to survive by accepting their many aberrations as “normal”. This is mockingly referred to by foreigners as the “Nigerian way” of doing things. For example in Nigeria it’s normal to see customs officers apprehending vehicles on motorways asking for import duty documents. In climes where government is run sensibly this is an abnormality as such inspections are done at borders or ports where the vehicles are imported.
In other climes it’s abnormal for motorists who have not committed any offence to be stopped randomly by Vehicle Inspection or Road Safety officers demanding to see particulars or fire extinguishers. Over here it’s normal. In Nations that respect human rights it’s abnormal for police to arrest suspects without DNA or forensic evidence with which to prosecute the case. Over here its standard procedure. In nations where the economy is depressed on the verge of total collapse it’s abnormal for leaders who can’t build or maintain infrastructure such as schools, hospitals or public housing to budget luxury vehicles, palatial mansions and life pensions for themselves.
This of course is very normal in Nigeria. Once upon a time it was normal in Nigeria for there to be constant light and running public taps. This is now such an abnormality that citizens now have light for only a fraction of the day and public water supply is non-existent. The list of abnormalities which Nigerians have been forced to accept as normal is endless. The “normality” of siren blowing vehicles escorted by police killing innocent citizens going about their lawful business.  The “normality” of school curriculum developers who don’t consider history and geography important, and then wonder why our education system fails to produce intelligent patriotic citizens. The “normality” of a higher education system that produces graduates with no marketable employment skills. The “normality” of a hospital system which is shunned by those responsible for maintaining and improving it who prefer treatment in properly run hospitals overseas. The “normality” of pot hole filled roads which cause daily avoidable deaths on our highways.  The “normality” of regular fuel shortages; beggars on our streets; armed robbery on our highways; deadly bank robberies; murders by herdsmen; rigged elections, corruption by public office holders, examination malpractice, and abuse of human rights.
Nigerians have stoically accepted all these and other abnormalities as being somehow “normal” and learnt to live with them as “normal”. However there is one abnormality which under no circumstances should we learn to live with, or ever accept as being “normal”. On 14th April 2014 the terrorist group Boko Haram invaded the Girls Senior Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State and kidnapped over 200 female students. Our collective shame caused by Jonathan’s failure to take immediate action is still with us as two years later the Chibok girls are still missing. Until they are re-united with their families, this is an indelible stain which every Nigerian leader will have to live with. 
After the girls were abducted Goodluck Jonathan who famously said he “didn’t give a damn” about public opinion went dancing at a political rally in Kano. Little did he know he was dancing his way out of the presidency! Having been ignominiously thrown out of office perhaps he gives a damn now? The less said about erstwhile First Lady Patience Jonathan’s embarrassingly pathetic intervention in the matter, the better. Initially there were doubts about the authenticity of the kidnap story. It’s easy to understand why people thought it a scam. After all in where in the world could over 200 girls be kidnapped simultaneously without a trace? 
Our hard-hearted political leaders who gleefully smile as they enjoy their self-granted perks of office, feel no sympathy for the girls, Although it’s been reported that they have suffered much at the hands of their abductors and been forced into marriage, sex-slavery, and suicide bombing, the truth is that the Nigerian government has accepted their sorrow tears and blood as just another abnormality which has become normal. Since the Chibok affair, hundreds of children have been being abducted on a scandalously regular basis.
The United Nations Humanitarian co-ordinator for Nigeria Fatma Samoura claims that up to 7,000 women and girls might be living in abduction and sex slavery, and over a million children have been displaced. It is to our collective shame that no action has been taken to free the Chibok girls and there is no news whatsoever about their whereabouts. As compassion and concern for their fate fades with time, kudos must go to Mrs Oby Ezekwesili and Haijia Aisha Yusuf who continue their godly mission to highlight their plight and fight endlessly for their release.