…Insist School Reconstruction Takes Backstage
BEVERLY HILLS, March 09, (THEWILL) – Still lamenting the inability of the Federal Government to rescue the over 200 school girls abducted by Boko Haram from Chibok last April, the people of the community Monday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to bring back the girls alive first before reconstructing the damaged school in the community.
They expressed their dismay at last Thursday’s visit by the federal government delegation led by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who laid the foundation for the reconstruction of some destroyed structures, including that of Government Secondary School, GSS, Chibok which was destroyed by the insurgents during the abduction of the schoolgirls.
At a media briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, over 1,000 indigenes of the town declared that they were surprised at the sudden interest of the Federal Government in the community almost a year after their daughters were abducted by Boko Haram gunmen.
“It is disheartening to inform you that since the abduction of these girls, the federal government did not bother to send delegations to Chibok to sympathise with the parents, instead, the parents were invited to Abuja and conveyed in a cargo military plane with no comfort whatsoever.
“We still observe that recently, President Goodluck Jonathan visited Mubi and Baga, but failed to visit Chibok to sympathise with our people,” the Caretaker Chairman of Chibok Council Area, Mallam Ba’ana Lawan, who spoke on behalf of the people said.
Accusing the federal government of several broken promises of rescuing the abducted schoolgirls, Lawan said the priority now should be to get the schoolgirls returned rather than rebuilding the destroyed school.
Speaking further, Lawan said: “We also observed that the President and Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, had severally promised that these girls will soon be released, but is it is now more than 300 days, and nothing of such happen.”
“We thank God and appreciate Governor Kashim Shettima and his wife, Nana Kashim Shettima, who did not only visit Chibok when the incident took place, but also secured admission for 59 schoolgirls that escaped from Boko Haram captivity to study in various schools in the country and for all the other assistance the couples have rendered to the parents. “
