First Lady welcomes rescued Chibok girl, to sponsor her education

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday received Rebecca Kabu, one of the 277 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in 2014, at the Presidential villa, Abuja. She received Rebecca along with the wife of the vice president, Hajiya Nana Shettima. Mrs Tinubu pledged to ensure that Rebecca was well taken care of […]

The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday received Rebecca Kabu, one of the 277 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram in 2014, at the Presidential villa, Abuja.

She received Rebecca along with the wife of the vice president, Hajiya Nana Shettima.

Mrs Tinubu pledged to ensure that Rebecca was well taken care of medically and fit to return to school willingly.

The First Lady, while assuring that the remaining girls in captivity were not forgotten, appreciated the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and other security agencies and those who were involved in Rebecca’s rescue.

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“Our dear daughter, Rebecca, I welcome you. I have been praying for you all night; it is well with you. What has happened to her is traumatic. Words are inadequate for me to describe it.

“Cases of amnesia should be treated; it is difficult to get by, but since you are still here, God has plans for you. I thank the office of the NSA and NIA for not relenting, and everyone that is assisting in her rehabilitation.

“Rebecca will be our first comeback story and returnee. She is our first fruit. She is a case I am quite interested in to see that she can go back to school at her own pace,’’ she said.

Mrs Tinubu said her non-governmental organisation, the Renewed Hope Initiative, was strongly working on how mature girls who were forced out of school could return for quality education.

She promised that Rebecca would be one of the first recipients of her benevolence.

The First Lady said the younger ones, if well educated, would be able to fit into the society and inherit the good legacies the older ones were leaving behind.

“Earlier, I talked to the NSA representative about cases of alternative high school, where girls like Rebecca can go back and learn at their pace because education is important for her and others,” she said.

Responding, Rebecca, in a low voice, told the First Lady that she could barely understand English language, but Mrs Tinubu consoled her, saying she would overcome it.

Earlier, Rear Admiral Yaminu Musa, the coordinator, Counterterrorism Centre of the NSA, said Rebecca, kidnapped at age 13 in 2014 and now 22 years old, was rescued by the government security agencies on July 17.

He said the returnee had been certified medically and mentally fit to be reunited with her parents in Zana village in Borno State.

He said that subsequently, the NSA office would follow up and present her case alongside the 15 other rehabilitated girls that were also rescued, for federal government’s education support.