TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT: PLEASE #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS AND OUR LOST GLORY!

As our gallant soldiers recorded a remarkable feat in their offensives against Boko Haram, storming sambisa and rescuing 200 girls and 93 women… I know many would then say it is untimely, inappropriate and out of place, with reference to the abducted chibok girls, that such plea would be directed to a newly elected President who’s yet to be sworn-in while the tenure of the sitting government which oversees this atrocity is still up and running. It is therefore essential to state clearly and outrightly that I am one, possibly, out of many who has since lost hope and has no inch of faith in the Jonathan-led administration. You can’t build a house on an empty foundation, President Jonathan has failed in his primary mandate of securing lives and properties of all Nigerians –and it is a fact that a house built on weak foundation is bound to collapse sooner or later. Having said that –it is, to that end, welcome to say President Jonathan’s loss at the March 28 polls had been forth coming and didn’t come as surprise to many.

I have no iota of trust, credence or confidence in the outgoing government neither do I expect something spectacular nor a drastic turn around –as we look forward to May 29 when power would change hands, any form of activities or expectations from the current administration could be likened to a crawling snake on mountain deemed to leave no mark/sign. This regime has a track record of celebrating mediocrity, bamboozle and sugar-coating projects, on account of that, all the groundbreaking ceremonies pre-election and thereon appear to me as fruitless, barren and empty. I could easily recall the N16 billion Gas Revolution Industry Park GRID) at Ogidigben and a deep sea port at Gbaramatu, both in Delta State –if the inauguration, which occurred two days to election, is anything to ponder on, its chances of being a success story is zero [It is a situation compared to a Duck that swallows solid substance, it does not matter if it’s a stone or rock, what goes through its anus is fluid/liquid]. I must advise readers not to see this writer as someone who is bitter or shown disdain towards PDP-controlled Federal Government; rather he should be seen as one of many Nigerians who, at a point, got tired of the numerous ‘failed promises` of President Jonathan’s administration.

Since this article is more about the plight of our missing girls, ensuring theirs remain on the front burner and raising hope for their safe return. I must, as a result of that, desist from been totally distracted by the ills and woes of this administration and as a subtitle focus on the ordeals of the chibok girls as I present them to the President-elect. I understand there is no need to kick a man [GEJ] who’s already been knocked down.

 The situation of the chibok girls is saddening and if I may use Prof. Wole Soyinka’s expression… “The issue of the chibok girls will forever remain an open sore on our national consciousness”... It’s a sad reality that over 200 school girls have remained in custody of inhumane elements, some ragtag army who find delight in spilling innocent blood, slitting throats and shooting souls off human bodies. That these girls, for more than a year, are yet to be saved from their captors and returned in the safe-hands of their parents is heartbreaking and very unfortunate –any attempt to picture their ordeals in enemies’ den will leave one with horrific sights and unimaginable thoughts.

The best time Jonathan-led administration should have taken firm action and returned the girls home was hours after their abduction, the next best time is now but in retrospect one would also ask why the presidency, at a time, devoted more energy to quench the efforts and kill the voice of the BBOGs movement, I mean more energy than it has for the mission to liberate the girls. It was at that point many begin to question the sincerity of purpose, on the part of government, in the quest to rescue the chibok girls.

There are many unanswered questions, some of which would go down in the historical records of this regime. In the event of this inhuman, monstrous and criminal act –i.e. following the abduction of these innocent girls from their school dormitory which has since sparked global outrage –one question begging for answers is why the current political dispensation under President Jonathan treated this matter with kid gloves.

I can’t fathom why it took several days before President Jonathan could give listening ears to the incident, I mean long after the dreaded terrorist group, the beast called Boko Haram invaded Government Girls College, Chibok and carted away 276 school girls. As if that wasn’t funny enough, another question to which its answer could only be found inside the Lagoon is why the President had to further set up a committee to ascertain the genuineness of the kidnapping in the face of global outcry and plea for the immediate rescue of the girls. It should also be noted that the greatest undoing of this administration in the matter of chibok girls is why, for several months, the Commander-in-Chief never deemed it fit to meet the agonizing Parents of the missing girls until arrival of a Pakistani activist for female education Malala Yousafzai on Nigerian soil.

It is a verifiable truth that, come May 29, the outgoing government would exit the power house with lot of bad images, ranging from corruption, maladministration, impunity etc. but from all this burdens and bad imaging, the most unfortunate and ruinous is the lackadaisical approach of the government in handling a matter widely condemned and decried. It is, however, our hope that as power changes hands on May 29 –the incoming government would place priority on protection of lives as constitutionally mandated and in the light of that do the needful to immediately #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS.

I also implore the incoming administration to hit the ground running as it appears the nation is in dire need of repair. It is shameful and disappointing that for 16 years of smooth democratic dispensation, the PDP-led federal government has little to show as success stories –virtually every sector of the country is in poor state. As a matter of urgency, the health sector needs a reform –the situation at hand is worrisome with regards to human development indices, the annual figures of maternal mortality and infant mortality is unacceptable. We cannot continue to live in a nation where 55 thousand of its pregnant women die annually during child birth and 300 thousand kids die prematurely in a record time of 365 days. It’s high time we introduced modern facilities and new technologies in our hospitals and save us the shame of ferrying sick Nigerians to countries like India, Egypt, and Ghana for critical medical needs. Also troubling is the report of Nigeria having the highest number of out-of-school children in the world and if we marry this with the fact that about 60% of Nigerian graduates are said to be unemployable –then one is condemned to accept the education sector needs revival.

There are many anomalies that need to be corrected by the incoming government. I mean it is barbaric to say the least and incomprehensible as to why the largest exporter of crude oil in Africa is also the biggest importer of petroleum products –no matter how constructive the argument is or the rationale behind this abnormality –it’s laughable, eccentric and illogical.

 It is our hope that General Mohammadu Buhari would deliver on his promises and meet the expectations of the downtrodden or the common man as the case may be who has been at receiving end of all the misfortunes and pains inflicted by President Jonathan-led administration.

@boluzzz

Boluwatife Adekunle.