Igho Akeregha (President, Civil Liberties
Organisation)

One of the major promises President
Muhammadu Buhari made to Nigerians during his
campaign was that he would free the Chibok girls
if he was elected. He also promised to defeat the
Boko Haram sect and ensure the return of
security to the country. But he has not succeeded
in fulfilling these promises. Unfortunately, it
appears that the President is overwhelmed by the
situation in the country.

The fact that the President stopped Nigerians
from exercising their fundamental human rights
on Monday raises a serious concern. People have
the right to hold him accountable; he promised
that he would be accountable to Nigerians. But he
is not doing that.
When some Nigerians are taken hostage, the
President must explain to the country what his
administration is doing to free those taken as
hostages.

It amounts to arbitrariness and insensitivity if he
uses state machinery to prevent Nigerians from
enjoying their rights. That is a questionable
behaviour on the part of the President.

Everybody must rise to condemn the prevention
of the Bring Back Our Girls group from accessing
the Presidential Villa on Monday. The State House
is not a personal property; it belongs to all
Nigerians. So, Nigerians should have access to the
President whenever they want, especially when an
issue like the Chibok girls is at involved.
The people have to decide whether they can still
put their hope in the President or not. In the
interim, Nigerians must continue to mount
pressure on the President to rescue the girls. We
must not leave the battle for the BBOG.
Every pressure group and civil society
organisation must be involved in the campaign.
We must continue to demand an explanation from
the government on the whereabouts of the girls.
The impression the government is giving is that it
does not know where they are. There are people
who know the location of the girls are; the
government must find and rescue them.

Aisha Yesufu (Co-founder, Bring Back Our
Girls)

Preventing the protesters from accessing the Aso
Rock would not stop the campaign to rescue the
girls. But, what does it say about the government?
It means that it is a government that does not
have any regard for the citizens. When the citizens
are banned from expressing their fundamental
human rights by the same government that
should protect those rights, it means there is a
problem. The BBOG movement would continue to
do what it has been doing. It would continue to
push for the rescue of the Chibok girls. Tuesday
marked 862 days since the girls were abducted;
we have not forgotten them.

For us, it does not matter who is the President of
the country or whether it was the same person
that was in government when the girls were taken
hostage. It is the responsibility of the government
to rescue them.

By rescuing them, we are not doing them a favour.
It is there right to be protected as members of the
society. And that right is guarantee by the
constitution.
I am very disappointed that the administration
that came on the basis of change has decided to
permit impunity. It has forgotten that citizens
matter.

It has forgotten that the highest office of the land
is not the office of the President but that of the
citizens. What happened on Monday was the
highest level of insensitivity.

I don’t think that the President would have done
what he did if his daughters were involved. He
would not have sent the police after those who
went to his office to ask for an explanation on the
efforts of the government to rescue the girls.
What happened shows that we have a government
that is very insensible and irresponsive.

Kucheli Balami (Human rights activist)

The issue has become extremely political. I think
there are better approaches we could use to
sustain the campaign if we stop politicising it.
But I am not sure the politicisation of the entire
process would stop.

As a Christian, I have resorted to prayer. I think
prayers would make a lot of difference if we all
acknowledge that God can do what we are unable
to achieve.

As I said, we can adopt other approaches to make
the campaign more effective.
But would the politicisation allow us to explore
other options?

Mr. Femi Aduwo (National Coordinator,
Rights Monitoring Group)
The international community has the indices for
measuring the performance of a democratically-
elected government. Compliance with
fundamental human rights is one of the indices.

On Tuesday, I posted on Facebook the photograph
of a woman who has been protesting in the front
of the White House in the past five years, abusing
President Barack Obama. At the White House,
there are thousands of people who protest and
abuse the President, day and night. Those people
are enjoying their freedom. Nobody tramples on
their rights.

Unfortunately, the Bring Back Our Girls group was
the same group the All Progressives Congress
used to demonise the Peoples Democratic Party
before the 2015 general election. Then, the
President promised that he would free the Chibok
girls within three months in office. But because he
has failed woefully, he has turned against the
group. What the President is doing is absurd,
insulting and it shows that we only have elected
people not democrats.

There is no difference between the approaches of
the current administration and those of the
administration of ex-President Goodluck
Jonathan. Interestingly, Jonathan allowed the
group to continue its protest without harassing
the members as the current administration is
doing.

On two or three occasions during the Jonathan
era, they even entered the villa and were received
at the gate. Some members of the APC, including
Senator Dino Melaye, joined the group. There is
no problem with that as their demands were
genuine. Nobody molested the group back then.

We expect the current administration to be more
humane in dealing with the group and the issue. It
should continue to discuss with them. The
government keeps saying it does not know the
whereabouts of the girls. That is embarrassing.

The government should stop violating people’s
rights. Just a few days ago, a young man was
detained for naming his dog ‘Buhari’. Who cares
the name you call your pet in a civilised society?

Imoudu Marcus (Lawyer and public affairs
analyst)

The prevention of the Bring Back Our Girls
protesters from accessing the Aso Rock by
security personnel does not speak well of our
democracy. In 1999 and early 2000s, we were
referring to our democratic practice as nascent.
Seventeen years after the military gave way to a
full-scale civil rule, our behavioral patterns need
to reflect the tenets of democracy. But what we
have is different from that.

In my view, there is no reason whatsoever why the
BBOG campaigners should be barred from seeing
the President. I personally feel that the President
would not be happy that overzealous security
agents stopped the protesters from reaching him.

There is no better place the group would have
taken its campaign to than the villa. Stopping the
members from getting to the President amounted
to a violation of their right and it was not
necessary.

It is our hope that the tenets of democracy would
not be militarised as we progress. The police are
expected to nurture the growth of democracy
because of their strategic role in the society. There
is absolutely no need disallowing harmless
protesters from entering the villa.

The President promised to rescue the Chibok girls
during his campaign. If that promise has not been
fulfilled 15 months into his administration, it not
morally right to prevent the BBOG campaigners
from seeing him to remind him of his promise.

Siyan Oyeweso (Professor of History)
I think the Bring Back Our Girls group needs to
adopt an innovative approach to make their
campaign relevant. It is not the number of times
that you abuse the President on public fora and
cry in the public that determines the response you
get from the government.

The President is the father of the entire nation.
There is no way he would not show empathy
towards the campaign for the rescue of the Chibok
girls. The entire saga would soon pass away
because the President is committed to the security
of the country. I know that the BBOG is patriotic
just like the President. Perhaps, some other
important engagements prevented the President
from seeing the members of the group when they
visited the villa.

A more diplomatic approach should be adopted.
The group should be more persuasive in dealing
with the President. The abduction is a tragedy that
has befallen the country and it must be properly
managed. At this stage of the campaign, a more
refined approach is recommended. We must
acknowledge that governance is a very complex
and serious business. There is no president that is
not concerned about the security and safety of his
people.


[img]punchng.com/chibok-girls-reactions-greet-buharis-failure-receive-protesters/[img]

[url]punchng.com/chibok-girls-reactions-greet-buharis-failure-receive-protesters/[/url]

Oga Yala abi na Bekwarra, come arrange dis thing wei u paste like small pikin.

how can I drink medicine for another
man's
headache


Northern elites initiated and sponsored
Boko Haram from the infancy and thought
they were doing the south, ironically got
consumed by it.



what ever seed a man soweth that's what
he shall reap

General Cassandra

These same set of people criticised GEJ on this chibok issue and sadly they are doing worse.

Those calling for more refined, diplomatic and persuasive approaches for d BBOG campaign, what are the suggestions? Is by using these cloying adjectives as if they have to beg n plead with the president to protect rights of Nigerians and even address them?

This is me speaking on d principle of d subject and governance as it should be cos as far as I'm concerned the whole Chibok girls kidnap is an elaborate scam perpetrated by the north to ensure d emergence of APC n Buhari. The problem they have now is how to conclude the drama without exposing themselves.