Again, the plights of women and children being displaced by Boko Haram in Borno state especially the abducted Chibok school girls are being x-rayed as a reminder of government’s abdicated responsibility. Sadiq Abubakar reports.
The founder/executive director of Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, Maiduguri in Borno state, Hajiyaa Hamsatu Allamin, has called on the federal government to fulfill its promises of bringing back the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls to their parents and guardians alive, safe and in good health.
She also lamented, saying it is sad that since the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction on April 14 2015 which is exactly even years ago, thousands of more girls, boys, young and older women have been abducted in the North-east of Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorists.
According to her, “And to date, there have been frequent reports that the internally displaced girls at the internally displaced persons (IDP)s camps that left to their nearby farmlands and those from communities liberated by the military to fetch water and firewood as well as those on transit to their ancestral homes were either attacked, ambushed and (or) abducted.
“Worst of it all is that the rampant abduction and kidnapping of schoolgirls and boys by the youths associated with armed groups is spreading across the whole country without much resistance from the federal government as leaders of this our dear country.
“We all thought that the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls would provide a wake-up call for the national and state authorities to ensure this would never happen again, but to no avail. None of the other regions have imagined the frequent degree of abductions across the northern states of Nigeria as we have witnessed in the recent past,” Hamsatu said.
Speaking out loud
Speaking at a one-day conference organised by Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development/Women FBIs and Hire Dike Network Members in collaboration with the International Civil Society Action Networks (ICAN), she noted that the event was to commemorate the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls and condemn continuous abductions and sexual violence being committed against women and girls (SVAW&G) in the North-east of Nigeria on April 14 2021 marking the seven years anniversary of the abduction of Chibok Schoolgirls by the insurgents.
She added that in 2014, Nigeria announced the Safe School Initiative (SSI) for the Chibok schoolgirls that were rescued and escaped from the clutches of the dreaded insurgents to ensure a safe school environment, particularly, in the North-east geographical region of the country which informed the endorsement of the International Safe School Declaration by authorities concerned a year later.
While speaking further, she however said, “But it is totally unclear up till now what the federal government has done to make schools safe for our children. We are witnessing a national emergency in this region right now.
“It is high time the authorities told us what they have done in the past years and come up with a thorough plan to protect our school children. This is because the federal government is obliged by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to protect them and ensure their safety/security.
“We are further calling on all armed groups and gangs to release all school children and women in their custody immediately, stop all these abductions, stop all these violence and enhance access to education by ensuring that education as a human right is not denied,” Allamin said.
Education as right of every child
According to her, the Sustainable Development Goals 4 (SDG 4) is the education goal that aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes life-long learning opportunities for all. She pointed out that in its Second Voluntary National Review report on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in June 2020, Nigerian government acknowledged the challenge that 10 million school going-age-children in the country are out of school.
She further explained that the federal government also by then saw the need to increase quality of education resources as only 16 per cent of the nation’s GDP goes to the education sector, while observing that the regional disparities are significant with 78 per cent of South-west children are able to read full or part of sentences while only 17 per cent of North-east children can.
Women and children as worst victims
The executive director however regretted that the Boko Haram conflict has indeed ravaged the North-eastern part of Nigeria in the past 11 years and killed many lives just as it destroyed property of both public and privates ownership worth billions of naira.
She noted that women, girls and children are the ones bearing the brunt and suffering in silence without any help or support from either the government or wealthy individuals within and outside the country who are crying out vehemently that they are victim of abduction, torture, humiliation rape, forceful marriage/ sexual violence, impregnation, starvation, forceful denial of their children, husbands and parents, denial of access to education and stigmatisation by their people in the society.
Others, according to investigation include that the women and girls have no job, exposed to abject poverty, ill-health, hunger, difficulties to earn a livelihood, lack of care and support to the women, girls and the children, among others, to live a normal life as citizens of Nigeria and not refugees or slaves in their own fatherland.
While calling in the federal government to come to their aid and people to continue to pray for them and the release of the remaining abducted women and girls as well other captives in the hands of the Boko Haram, they called on the government to take up this responsibility with diligence.
Leaders of note joined the fray
Leader of Abducted Chibok Schoolgirls parents, Mr Ayuba Alanson, CAN women leader, Mrs Blessing M Mshelia, Muslim Sisters Organization leader, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed Biu, Christian Widows leader, Mrs Asabe Ladagu, Jire Dole Network members Leader, Hajja Gana Suleiman were in attendance.
Others include the Women in Dawah leader, Hajiya Rabi Mohammed and the Women Affairs director, Ministry of Women Affairs who stood in for the Honourable commissioner for women affairs and social development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo who all spoke in the same vein as they called on the government to support the women and girls as well as soliciting for continuous prayers, tolerance and resilience from the victims and people generally.
