PRESS RELEASE ON THE KIDNAPPED CHIBOK GIRLS
Nigerian students say the recent kidnap of over 200 school girls fromtheir dormitory while they slept and the attendant reactions fromseveral quarters raises many questions begging for answers.A group THE CAMPUS DEMOCRATS comprising students from senior secondaryschools to University undergraduates and fresh graduates saidstudents demand answers to the many questions for Nigeria to overcomethe Boko Haram menance.Part of the statement signed by the National Coordinator MAOBUYENANGI OBU on behalf of the group reads:
'It started like small scale, road-side, petty crime and no one batedan eyelid until now. Because it was treated with levity, today BOKOHaram is large-scale crime against humanity, not only Nigerians, butagainst the Sub-Saharan African Continent. Today, not even the original sponsors can quell the situation.
From countless bombings to gang raping, stealing and now, whiskingof innocent Secondary School Children. This has made the Country thesecond most talked about in the international crime-scene after Crimea(Ukraine).
On that note, we have carefully analyzed the goings on in the polityand wish to make the submission that; Nigeria is loosing unless westep up our game. One thing that bothers us (Campus Democrat), as past and presentStudents leaders is that:
The politicians are busy playing nonsensical politics with human livesin Nigeria. Firstly, it was misdirected 'missiles' as a result ofmisinformation or distortion of information either by the Governmentor the opposition.
Truth is, we are uninterested and we don't want to know who is/waswrong and who's right; there is no trophy to won in the end.
These girls are not politicians, they are innocent kids, we demand fortheir immediate release.
Indeed it is shameful that we still haven't heard the actual number ofgirls that were kidnapped, some say they're 129, others say they're 200. Later we heard they are
actually 234, unfortunately, mostinternational media houses are reporting they're 276 girls.
As young people, we do not know who to believe on this, we are touchedand concerned not only about the lives of these girls, but theirhealth status at the moment.
It is very likely these girls would have been sexually abused andmolested by these BOKO HARAM animals already!.
More shameful is, seeing some failed politicians hijacking the#BringBackOurGirls protest which originally was created for goodintentions.
We have noticed with dismay that there are some bad eggs in theNation's security system that aides the BOKO HARAM activities bydishing out some salient security information. This is unfortunate.
We have also noticed that some Nigerians are also hoarding somehelpful information about the BOKO HARAM sect; perhaps gullibility isat play here.
We also have a feeling that the Federal Government is shying away fromnaming the sponsors of this sect even after accusing the oppositionand some others of being the brains behind this menace. Of a truth we demand to know the sponsors of BOKO HARAM.
To make matters worse, we have seen the lackadaisical attitude of theBorno State Government on this issue. It beats our imagination thatthe Borno State Government and the School authority have failed toproduce the names and actual faces of the girls.
We believe that the government's kids-glove treatment in it's quest tocurb the insurgency has enabled these blood thirsty demons to continueto fester and linger.
We have heard some elders from the North protesting that thegovernment should not force the 'BOKO BOYS' to surrender, indeed this is unheard of. We wonder if our fathers are subtly institutionalizing criminality byencouraging the 'BOKO BOYS' by this statement.
It is our belief that BOKO HARAM is now internationalized and perhaps,over-politicized. For us, it is terror against the stability of the most populous BlackNation, Nigerians must say 'NO' to BOKO HARAM beyond religion andpolitics.
We must learn to come together and fight these animals.
So far, we have heard of the government's interventions and we aredemanding for the following:
1. That the Politicians, the opposition, the State (Borno State) andthe Federal Government should as a matter of urgency, produce theinnocent girls and stop playing politics with Nigeria people'semotions.
2. That if truly the girls were kidnapped, we demand for theirphotographs, names, town/Village, and date of Birth.
3. That, the various levels of government (States, opposition andFederal), should produce the names of the BOKO HARAM sponsors.
4. That, the School Principal, WAEC, the Borno Government and theFederal Government should tell us the actual number of girlskidnapped.
Similarly, we are advising that the Federal Government restrictmovement outside the Sambisa area, but people should be allowed to goin. We are also suggesting the Government should run a DNA check onstress in every Young man or woman within the affected area, this isbecause; the 'BOKO BOYS' may quickly collapse into the generalpopulation easily.
Finally, we are calling on the National Assembly to stop playingpolitics and name-calling. We are expecting them to make nabling lawsthat'll terminate this menace. Rather, they're only seen playingpolitics of self aggrandizement and sheer fame, this should stop if wemust grow as a Nation.
Instead of calling names and shifting blames, it is best to make lawsthat'll deaden/quieten and eradicate this drama.
Above all, let's not forget to pray for Nigeria'.
The group on it's website www.thecampusdemocrat.org says there are over 35 million Nigerian students of Voting age spread across 126Universities, 76 Polytechnics, 48 Monotechnics, 53 AlliedInstitutions and 103 Colleges of Education ans senior secondaryschools in Nigeria.
These constitute a large segment of the society whose opinions shouldmatter on how our nation is governed.
They say the group seeks to harness the power of this much overlookedgroup to work for systematic change at all levels of government and tointroduce students to politics and to provide youths with theknowledge and skills to graduate into public service as they leave school.