‘WHAT IF OUR CHIBOK GIRLS ARE FOUND?’ – ANAYO UCHEGBU
It’s been over 365
days and our Chibok schoolgirls are still not back. Outgoing President Goodluck
Jonathan, in the weeks leading to the March 28 presidential elections,
reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to finding the girls and returning
them home to their parents as quickly as possible and, just recently, the
National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, reportedly made a “bold”
promise to have the girls rescued before May 29, 2015, which incidentally is
the date of handover to President-elect, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari.
days and our Chibok schoolgirls are still not back. Outgoing President Goodluck
Jonathan, in the weeks leading to the March 28 presidential elections,
reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to finding the girls and returning
them home to their parents as quickly as possible and, just recently, the
National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, reportedly made a “bold”
promise to have the girls rescued before May 29, 2015, which incidentally is
the date of handover to President-elect, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari.
General Buhari, in
his statement on the anniversary of the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls by
Boko Haram gave a somewhat honest but grim response to the possibility of
bringing back our girls by stating that “we do not know if the Chibok girls can
be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot
promise that we can find them. But I say to every parent, family member and
friend of the children that my Government will do everything in its power to
bring them home”.
his statement on the anniversary of the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls by
Boko Haram gave a somewhat honest but grim response to the possibility of
bringing back our girls by stating that “we do not know if the Chibok girls can
be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot
promise that we can find them. But I say to every parent, family member and
friend of the children that my Government will do everything in its power to
bring them home”.
The honest truth is
that even if by some miracle the military can bring back all the still missing
219 Chibok schoolgirls, they cannot bring back their childhood. Call me a
pessimist and naysayer all you want, but you should try to wear their sandals
for a moment and imagine that the whole world knew your name, face, family and
story and have watched you on television sitting behind Shekau – a man who
sneers at the camera, threatening to sell you as sex slaves if you were lucky
or marry you to terrorists if you were not.
that even if by some miracle the military can bring back all the still missing
219 Chibok schoolgirls, they cannot bring back their childhood. Call me a
pessimist and naysayer all you want, but you should try to wear their sandals
for a moment and imagine that the whole world knew your name, face, family and
story and have watched you on television sitting behind Shekau – a man who
sneers at the camera, threatening to sell you as sex slaves if you were lucky
or marry you to terrorists if you were not.
The outgoing
government has given assurances that they would provide counseling to
rehabilitate our Chibok schoolgirls but I wonder if anyone is actually
counseling their parents who have suffered continuing mental torture this past
one year. I wonder if firm arrangements are being made with their parents to
permit their long kidnapped daughters to return to another government
institution for post traumatic stress therapy because believe me, these girls
are deeply traumatized and probably scarred for life.
government has given assurances that they would provide counseling to
rehabilitate our Chibok schoolgirls but I wonder if anyone is actually
counseling their parents who have suffered continuing mental torture this past
one year. I wonder if firm arrangements are being made with their parents to
permit their long kidnapped daughters to return to another government
institution for post traumatic stress therapy because believe me, these girls
are deeply traumatized and probably scarred for life.
It is critical to
ask if the government has set up a rehab centre with trained trauma therapists
and counselors on standby so our girls can get instant psychiatric care
immediately they are rescued. Has the government bothered to prepare their
parents for the support roles they have to play in the rehabilitation process
or will we do things the Nigerian way by releasing the girls to their parents
only to attempt to take them back for admission to Chibok Girls Rehab Centre
weeks after the rescue operation?
ask if the government has set up a rehab centre with trained trauma therapists
and counselors on standby so our girls can get instant psychiatric care
immediately they are rescued. Has the government bothered to prepare their
parents for the support roles they have to play in the rehabilitation process
or will we do things the Nigerian way by releasing the girls to their parents
only to attempt to take them back for admission to Chibok Girls Rehab Centre
weeks after the rescue operation?
What if these girls
are pregnant? The creepy thought of conceiving a Shekau jnr. must send shivers
down their spines. Could anyone love and nurture such a baby? Or will they end
up being thrown away? Try to conceptualize the anguish they would feel carrying
for nine months a product of rape and torture. Assume that a Shekau jnr. was
born, could anyone marry a Chibok girl? Would you accept if anyone in your
family decided to be the stepfather of Shekau jnr? Looking at the innocent
child, would you not be consumed with irrational fears that he may be a
changeling because they say the apple does not fall far from the tree?
are pregnant? The creepy thought of conceiving a Shekau jnr. must send shivers
down their spines. Could anyone love and nurture such a baby? Or will they end
up being thrown away? Try to conceptualize the anguish they would feel carrying
for nine months a product of rape and torture. Assume that a Shekau jnr. was
born, could anyone marry a Chibok girl? Would you accept if anyone in your
family decided to be the stepfather of Shekau jnr? Looking at the innocent
child, would you not be consumed with irrational fears that he may be a
changeling because they say the apple does not fall far from the tree?
If these girls are
pregnant, would we blame them for the pregnancy? After all, only bad girls get
raped, right? Should they have chosen to die in Sambisa forest instead of let
themselves be taken advantage of? Is this a case of what you were wearing
tempted them to rape you? Would we be compassionate and support these girls
without trying to be judgmental or worse still, accuse them of being converted
into terrorism and behind the spate of female suicide bombings across the
country?
pregnant, would we blame them for the pregnancy? After all, only bad girls get
raped, right? Should they have chosen to die in Sambisa forest instead of let
themselves be taken advantage of? Is this a case of what you were wearing
tempted them to rape you? Would we be compassionate and support these girls
without trying to be judgmental or worse still, accuse them of being converted
into terrorism and behind the spate of female suicide bombings across the
country?
Now that we are
shamefacedly marking the first anniversary of the kidnap of our Chibok
schoolgirls and have recaptured the whole world’s fleeting attention, is this
not the right time to address gender issues like female genital mutilation,
rape, child marriage, child abuse and all the other rampant vile acts that
oppress the rights of the girl child in Nigeria?
shamefacedly marking the first anniversary of the kidnap of our Chibok
schoolgirls and have recaptured the whole world’s fleeting attention, is this
not the right time to address gender issues like female genital mutilation,
rape, child marriage, child abuse and all the other rampant vile acts that
oppress the rights of the girl child in Nigeria?
The outgoing
President Goodluck Jonathan who is still yet to visit Chibok to calm distraught
mothers and assure distressed fathers, family and friends of his rescue efforts
chose instead to concentrate on politicking. We hope, pray and plead with
President-elect Mohammadu Buhari to choose humanity over politics and rescue
and rehabilitate our girls. We simply cannot continue to do nothing but protest
daily in tears and placards at public places while marking time for the
government to #BringBackOurGirls.
President Goodluck Jonathan who is still yet to visit Chibok to calm distraught
mothers and assure distressed fathers, family and friends of his rescue efforts
chose instead to concentrate on politicking. We hope, pray and plead with
President-elect Mohammadu Buhari to choose humanity over politics and rescue
and rehabilitate our girls. We simply cannot continue to do nothing but protest
daily in tears and placards at public places while marking time for the
government to #BringBackOurGirls.
Anayo Uchegbu
writes from Lagos.
writes from Lagos.
Email: anayouchegbu@yahoo.com
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