The whole world stood in unison yesterday, demanding the release of the 219 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists exactly one year ago from Chibok, Borno State.
As demonstrations were held in major western cities to mark the anniversary of the abduction, 219 schoolgirls, who called themselves Chibok Ambassadors, staged a protest march in Abuja, while the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and the House of Representatives called on the government to reinforce efforts to bring back the missing girls.
Soyinka
At a forum held in Lagos, Professor Soyinka urged Nigerians to join hands with the government to ensure that the children were found.
His words: “We must make sure that such assault on our humanity does not happen again. The survival of humanity and of the nation must remain paramount.
“Terrorism is not a Nigerian phenomenon alone and may not be going away soon. However, we must not get used to it. Our children are being dehumanised. I believe that our responsibility is to assist by becoming vigilant.
“We must become policemen/women and vigilante of our communities. We must encourage others to be protective members of their community.
Utomi
Professor Pat Utomi, in his contribution, said humanity, the world over, was a shared one and anything that diminished any human and did not touch others was bad.
He said: “Terror is not something we should tolerate. We must confront terror and not sit in our homes complaining.
“We must stand up to enforce what we demand. The measure of the progress of any civilization is how they hold the dignity of the human person.
“It’s not just about rescuing the girls alone but about staying together and fighting for what is right.”
Utomi suggested that plans must be put in place that would help rehabilitate the girls when they eventually return.
Okei-Odumakin
In her speech, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, who is also the President of Campaign for Democracy, CD, said more should be done to enhance security of lives and property in Nigeria.
She said: “The whole world stood in unison to call for the return of our girls since they were taken.
“We will continue to raise awareness and to insist that our military gets better welfare to boost their morale. We want to tell the terrorists that we can never give up our girls.
“We also want to challenge the President-elect on seeing that the girls are re-united with their parents.”
Chibok Ambassadors
In Abuja, 219 schoolgirls marched through the streets starting from Unity Fountain to Ministry of Education, chanting and demanding the rescue of the remaining 219 girls, who were yet to be released by the insurgents.
Tears were visible on the faces of the girls as they recounted their grievances to the handful of officials, who met them outside the ministry building.
They said they will never be tired of fighting for the rights of their kidnapped “sisters” who cannot speak for themselves.
Each girl carried a placard bearing the name of a missing Chibok girls.
“Three-hundred-and-sixty-five-days and we are still calling out loud and clear, stronger than ever— we will not get tired of calling for the release of our sisters,” said Rebecca Ishaku, one of the girls, who escaped from Boko Haram’s custody.
The ministry initially locked them out. But when the girls continued to sing and demanded to speak with the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, he sent his Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr. Muhammed Umara to address them.(Vanguard)
