Return of the Chibok girls

All Nigerians and indeed humanity all around the world received with great relief and happiness the return last Thursday of 21 schoolgirls who were part of more than 200 abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014. While Boko Haram is known to have abducted thousands of people all over the North East region and […]

All Nigerians and indeed humanity all around the world received with great relief and happiness the return last Thursday of 21 schoolgirls who were part of more than 200 abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014. While Boko Haram is known to have abducted thousands of people all over the North East region and beyond, the Chibok schoolgirls became the international symbol for all the abducted persons and their trauma was felt by all fellow citizens these two and a half years.
The circumstance of the abduction of these innocent teenage girls shook the conscience of the entire world and spawned an international #BringBackOurGirls movement. The 21 girls released last week apparently gained their freedom through secret negotiation between Federal Government and the insurgents’ leaders. Government has not yet disclosed details of the deal.
The federal government and the various parties that facilitated this breakthrough deserve commendation for restoring the hopes of the families of the freed girls and the entire country as well. The Nigerian military that degraded the sect and forced it into acquiescing to a deal deserves the respect of the country for their gallantry in battle and making the country proud. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the government of Switzerland also deserve our thanks for their painstaking effort to get the girls freed. Nigeria owes them a debt of gratitude. 
With the release of 21 of the schoolgirls that were missing, a complement of issues has arisen regarding the new direction of the war on terror. Firstly is the issue of the remaining girls whose fate still remains unknown. Questions over whether they are alive or dead or radicalised still remain on every lip. On the other hand is the issue of what strategies will drive the war now that both sides have openly engaged in some bargaining and concessions with exchange of assets. 
Such a situation qualifies for consideration given some factors. For instance the conditions of swapping of assets by both sides need to be strictly monitored by the government since the released Boko Haram commanders must possess some significant measure of viciousness and lethality to justify their bargain value to the sect. That in itself is bad news for the country as there is the likelihood of the released fighters returning to the war front with a higher level of viciousness. The military therefore needs to be more effective in containing whatever excesses the insurgents may offer in their subsequent moves.
Then there is the issue of rehabilitation of the returned girls. While the uniqueness of the Chibok schoolgirls makes them special of sorts, our culture of rehabilitation of victims of terror has never been impressive. Reports from previously rescued victims have been not been very encouraging. This situation has led to reports that many victims of kidnap and forced marriage to the Boko Haram insurgents often consider going back to their former captors. While this may not be the case with the returned Chibok girls, the need exists to address the issue of rehabilitation of such people with the aim of making them come out of whatever trauma they would have suffered.
Meanwhile as expected, the angst over the Chibok girls’ abduction had thrown up several shades of reaction including charges by opponents that government had been slack in its handling of the matter. In this respect can be considered the visible advocacy by the BBOG and other collectives. However with the new development of the release of the girls albeit instalmentally, the situation calls for a closing of ranks among all stakeholders until all the Chibok schoolgirls and other abducted persons are brought back home.