Chibokgirls Release and The Ceasefire Scam! By Ogundana Michael Rotimi

It is my wish that this piece was a congratulatory and welcoming speech for the Chibok girls and a new dawn to the peaceful coexistence in Nigeria after the federal government raised our hopes in an acclaimed ceasefire with the violent sect and a possible release of the chibok girls.

 

After immense pressure from both local and international concerned fellows, most especially from the campaigners of the bring back our girls group, and following the need to impress the public towards getting their vote in the upcoming elections, the federal government had no choice than to prove to the people that she was indeed concerned about the release of the chibok girls, kidnapped by the violent Boko Haram sect about six months ago.

Consequently, on 17th October 2014, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Military, said that it had agreed to a ceasefire deal with the ferocious sect- Boko Haram, and that the Chibok girls would be released soon. The deal was made public by the Chief of Defence Staff; Air Marshal Alex Badeh.

I`m personally among the Nigerians who do not believe that a ceasefire deal could be reached between the federal government and Boko Haram sect because both parties are made up of men with low integrity.

Surprisingly, on the evening of Thursday, 16th October 2014, a ceasefire deal was announced to have been reached by both parties in Saudi Arabia.

Considering the space of time involved in the negotiations between the federal government and the violent sect, it was so shocking that a ceasefire deal could be reached between the two parties just like.

The whole processes look too fast, too cheap and more or less like something being staged. It wouldn’t` t be an overstatement to call it a scam.

Also, you may not come across in history when a ceasefire between two parties is one sided and seems beneficial to one party and not to the two parties involved. During the announcement made by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Military, what the sect intended to benefit from the ceasefire was not announced. The announcement only mentioned what the federal government will benefit from the ceasefire- that is the release of the Chibok girls.

Definitely, it must have been a kangaroo ceasefire orchestrated to impress the people to show that efforts are being made to rescue the over 200 abducted girls.

Patiently and anxiously, caring and concerned Nigerians including the international community waited for the release of the girls as announced to take place on Monday, 20th October 2014. But patiently, we all waited in vain.

As at the time this piece was written, over one week after the expected date of release, the girls are yet to be back home.

Instead of the release of the girls, the ceasefire deal was broken in less than 24 hours after it was reportedly sealed. Maikadiri villages in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State, and Sina and Grata villages in Adamawa States, were attacked by the sect, with heavy casualties.

Afterwards, Nigerian troops, also killed 25 members of the Boko Haram sect in a bloody clash with the sect members in Sabon Gida town in Damboa Council of Borno State.

Apparently, somebody should begin to tell Nigerians and the international community the true story about the purported release and ceasefire. The people definitely need answers to the following questions:

Was the government scammed by the violent sect? Did the government try to scam the violent sect? Did the government try to scam the masses? Or did both parties try to scam themselves? Who is fooling who?

One thing that is so important is that the violence must come to an end, there must be restoration of peace in the region and very importantly is that the Chibok girls must be released.

In that case, it is very important for the government to put all forces, tactics and logistics together to make sure that a lasting peace is secured and maintained in the region and all over the country and that the violent sect is completely defeated.

If the government needs to go back to the negotiation table with the sect, it should do that fast and get the right people to negotiate with.

It is a disgrace to our country that we left our girls in the hands of a brutal sect for this long.

No doubt, efforts may have been made to secure the safe release of these young girls. Nonetheless, the fact is, efforts are not often recognized if there are no results to show for it.

This is a call to the government, there must be an end to all forms of terrorism and sectarian violence in our land and the end must be now.

God Bless Nigeria!

Ogundana Michael Rotimi

Follow me on Twitter @MickeySunny