16th April, 2015
By Bilikis Bakare
It has been a year now that over 200 girls were abducted from their hostel at the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, an event that has remained indelible in the minds of parents and those of us who empathise with the victims. The drama that unfolded after the dastardly act made Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of Nations.
The report of the abduction was initially perceived by the Federal Government as one of the propaganda by ‘haters’ of the administration. However, protests and campaigns by various individuals such as the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili and many non-governmental organisations such as the #BringBackOurGirls group, jolted the Federal Government about the reality of the abduction.
Soon after, the leader of the insurgents came out with the video of the girls in the Sambisa forest with the threat to either sell or marry them off. And despite the Nigeria Armed Forces’ claim of knowing the location of these girls and assuring Nigerians of rescuing them alive, all the promises turned out to be a ruse. This further heightens the fear of the citizens about their security- one of the most important preconditions for human existence. It is a common knowledge that public safety and security, sometimes referred to as protection of life and properties, is a sine qua non for a viable and sustainable society. Indeed, without a measure of public safety, the normal functions of human activity that enable a society to exist, thrive and grow will be severely compromised. Meanwhile, as the recently conducted general elections were approaching, the security forces intensified their efforts at securing life and properties as well as the territorial integrity of the nation in the North Eastern part of the country but all these are fizzling out now. More children and vulnerable members of the distraught communities have been abducted. In fact, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), some 800,000 children have since been forced to flee their homes, recruited by armed groups or attacked, as a result of the conflict between Boko Haram, military forces and civilian self-defence groups in northeast Nigeria, where Chibok, a sleepy community in Borno State, is located. Available statistics by the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) reveals that the number of children absent from primary school in Nigeria has increased from 8 million in 2007 to 10.5 million — the highest figure in the world. Boko Haram has targeted schools, destroying or severely damaging many, living up to their nickname which means “Western education is forbidden” or sinful. Similarly, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) reports that one out of every five Nigerian children is out of school, topping the table of 12 other countries with which it accounts for 47% of global out-of-school children population. The sizeable number of these outs-of-school children can be found in the Northern part of the country where Boko Haram holds sway.
Nigerians did not just wake up to find themselves in this mess. It is a result of the accumulation of national problems ranging from bad leadership, corruption, unemployment, illiteracy and wrangling among the political class. The desperate, intolerant and ruthless contests among political parties, political leaders and their followers have often resulted in violence, security breaches, killings and destruction of property. In Nigeria, politicians will do anything to be successful at the polls, including disrupting the peace enjoyed by the citizens to deceive them into believing that their opponents or the incumbents are incapable of leading the country. The perpetrators of this unrest have a way of escaping from their actions, leaving the vulnerable members of the society- women and children – to bear the brunt.
In the words of Dalai Lama “a lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.“ There is lack of transparency on the part of our leaders, leading to the led to have the notion that the former are insincere and lacking empathy. For instance, the Freedom of information bill signed into law is expected to address this, but the effect of the law is yet to be felt by the citizens as governance is almost still shrouded in mystery. In the face of flagrant display of affluence by those in power, the underprivileged in the society have no option but to show their grievances in form of perpetrating such acts as kidnapping, ritual killings, vandalization of public properties and lately bombings and insurgency to show their grievances and seek attention.
According to the World Bank statistics on Nigeria, youth unemployment rate in the country is 38%, but realistically, 80% of Nigerian youths are unemployed with secondary school graduates mostly found among unemployed rural population, accounting for about half of this figure, while university and polytechnic graduates make up the rest of the figure. What seems to be more worrisome is the fact that the nation’s higher institutions continue to churn out more than 150,000 graduates annually. Sadly, the available jobs have not been adequate to keep pace with the expanding working age population.
The insecurity in the country caused by insurgents in the North and kidnapping in the South East is part of the result of unemployment. Unfortunately, these unemployed youths are now the tools being used to destabilise the country. Therefore, in order to stamp out insecurity in the country, efforts should be geared towards tackling the social malaise plaguing the society. But it is now becoming worrisome after a year of the Chibok Girls abduction that it seems the attention has now been shifted away from rescuing the girls to marking the anniversary of their abduction as campaigners have replaced the slogan of “Bring Back Our Girls — Now and Alive!” with a new one: “Never to be forgotten.” What this mean is that the campaign to bring the girls back might have lost its steam. Therefore, it is important for us all to keep the hope alive by increasing the tempo of the protests and also charge the Federal Government to step up efforts at not only rescuing the girls, but also towards addressing social and moral decadence in the country.
•Bakare is of the Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.