by Eze Eluchie
Having sneaked
it’s way into office under the guise of providing strong leadership,
particularly in the areas security of lives and properties, the Muhammadu
Buhari-led government in Nigeria was understandably feeling quite exposed with
the frequency of bloody terror attacks staged across the North-east fringes of
Nigeria by Boko Haram. With an economy already at the brinks, increasing
frequency of murderous attacks across the country by Fulani Herdsmen militia
and and growing tension across the land on account of the irresponsiveness of
the government to diverse national issues, there was the felt necessity by
supporters of the regime to ‘prove’ or in any way whatsoever show that the
government still had some bite, some exploits/abilities worthy of commendation.
Answer: Stage
something spectacular and position the government to play the heroic saviour.
On February
9th 2018, something spectacular did indeed happen at the Government Girls
Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, North-Eastern Nigeria. A few days
after military roadblocks and other security checkpoints were ordered to be
dismantled around Dapchi town, a column of what is being touted as supposedly
Boko Haram ’terrorists’ stormed the now defenceless school in Dapchi and
strolled away with over 100 school girls. Findings by Amnesty International
reveal that efforts by persons in Dapchi to notify security agencies while the ‘abductions’
were taking place, was discountenanced. The innocent school girls who were not
privy to whatsoever was unfolding resisted, and some of them were killed during
the ‘abduction’.
After the
Dapchi ‘abductions’, the Nigerian government went into overdrive to stress that
it was ‘on top of the situation’ and would DEFINITELY rescue the girls in a
very short time span. The Minister of Defence proudly granted interviews within
the past few days asserting that ‘gallant’ soldiers were in hot pursuit of the
terrorists holding the girls and were on the verge of ‘rescuing’ the ‘abducted’
girls. President Buhari himself, apparently overwhelmed by the plot that was
daily unfolding, embarked on an ill-advised red-carpet media-blitz visit to the
venue of the ‘abductions’ in Dapchi, where he compared his government’s response
to Dapchi with how the erstwhile Goodluck Jonathan administration had reacted
during the Chibok ‘abductions’, and concluded that his {Buhari’s}
administration’s reaction was better. The certainty with which the government
was announcing it’s impending success at rescuing’ the girls, was simply
mindboggling and suspect.
With the script
playing out quite well with Interest displayed by global media outlets about a
second mass abduction of female students in Nigeria by ‘Boko Haram’ was
sufficient to convince the principal protagonists, the Buhari-led Nigerian government,
that it was time to play the ‘hero’ and move to the concluding part of the
script – the ‘rescue’/’release’.
After spending
31 days in supposedly Boko Haram ‘captivity’, a long convoy of vehicles drapped
with Boko Haramm flags and conveying heavily armed ‘terrorists’ and the 100 ‘abducted’
girls meandered, unchallenged, through
what is supposedly areas under intense security surveillance, and dropped off
the ‘abducted’ girls in the centre of Dapchi town. The residents of Dapchi
town, who apparently had foreknowledge of the ‘return’ of the ‘abducted’ girls,
lined the streets of Dapchi to usher in the ‘Boko Haram’ convoy into Dapchi.
Pictures taken
of the ‘rescued’/’released’ girls, soon after they were dropped off by their
captors, of the girls decked in very neat school uniforms and each saddled with
a bag of provisions and apparels, coupled with the heroic pre-arranged welcome of
the Boko Haram ‘terrorists’ into Dapchi town, was simply too incredulous to be imagined.
Are we to believe that the terrorists were so caring that they ensured the ‘abducted’
girl’s uniforms were properly laundered? Did Boko Haram terrorists spice up
their caring nature by lavishing the ‘abductees’ with gifts at the end of their
‘ordeal’?
To fully
take benefit of their ingenuity, the Buhari-led government wasted no time in
claiming ‘victory’ for the ‘release’ of the girls, with the ruling All
Progressive Congress {APC} political parties making pronouncements,
simultaneous with the ‘release’ of how ‘effective’ the government was in
handling the Dapchi ‘abductions’ when compared with how the Chibok saga was
managed by the erstwhile Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The gloating over the ‘release’ of the Dapchi abductees’ has
been ferocious, with nationally owned television and radio channels repeatedly
broadcasting news and interviews on the heroic unconditional ‘release’ of the
abductees of Dapchi.
Really? Vicious terrorists ‘abduct’ hundreds of school girls,
keep them for a month and return them to their parents unconditionally? Without
any ransom being paid or other conditions whatsoever? Does this regime really
think Nigerians and the discerning international community do not see through
this obvious scam?
If only the liberty, safety and lives of innocent school
girls was not adversely impacted upon and the concerns of the parents of the
girls, the greater Nigerian population and the international community had not
been aroused, one would have had a nice lengthy laugh over the childishness of
the Dapchi tragicomedy. That a government can descend so low in an effort to
prop itself up as a ‘heroic’, security conscious and savvy entity is simply disgusting.
With this level of desperation, one does not need to be a
rocket scientist to realize to what extent the sitting government would go in
the forthcoming general elections slated for the first quarter of year 2019,
towards reinstalling itself into office.
The dark clouds are gathering......
Video link: Residents of Dapchi give heroic welcome to Boko Haram ’terrorists’ when
they returned the Dapchi ‘abductees’ earlier today, 21st March 2018,
at Dapchi.
Picture: The returnee ‘abductees’ (neat
and trim with packed bags) earlier today 21st March 2018, at Dapchi.
Picture: Residents of Dapchi give heroic welcome to the convoy of Boko Haram 'terrorists' who 'released' the 'abducted' Dapchi girls.
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