CHIBOK GIRLS’ DELAYED RESCUE: Nigerian government prototype of the average Nigerian — Pastor Ruth Essien

*Says next set of Nigerian leaders already messed up *Corruption, root of nation’s disaster *How parents have failed BY Alebiosu Oluwadamilare Samuel What do you think of the recent twist to the insurgent in North-East Nigeria; that’s the kidnap of schoolgirls? I’m going to give answers to that question as a woman, mother and as a pastor. As a woman, first and foremost, we know clearly that these girls are going to be beaten and raped; and most of them are virgins. Definitely, that’s going to affect them because if we want to have better women, we must make sure the girl child is well-trained, emotionally balanced, healthy and educated. So, these people are going to release to us horrible women in future. As a mother, this is not something that any mother should even imagine. My biological daughters are not among them but I must tell you that for weeks, I’ve been very sad. When I close my eyes, it’s like I’m seeing them screaming while being raped. I’m praying to God seriously about it because it is very disturbing. What if one of those girls is the only child or daughter of the parents? We’re not even sure all of them are alive! As a pastor, I want to tell everyone that this is the opportunity for God to uncover these people because I’m sure even their founding sponsors are no longer in support of their actions. They now have other means of getting money and have become bosses of their own, and not of those who actually introduced them for political purpose. If truly their god says these girls should not go to school, did that god also say they should forcefully marry them? The Federal Government is presently being castigated for failing to intervene timely though it claims to have been working round the clock. Do you think government has actually intervened in a shrewd and timely manner? In as much as I do not have any dealings or business directly with government, I’m somebody that calls a spade a spade. We’re all saying government did not do this and that but do we agree that there are many things that happen individually in our different homes that we handle wrongly? That’s just a small family; not to talk about a whole country. I’m not taking side with government. Yes, we say they could have acted timely but how do they act timely if they do not have adequate information and equipment? These people work with information and that’s why they have been able to successfully carryout series of bombing! Let us just pray for God’s wisdom. Again, talking about government; most of their children are outside this country. It has to affect somebody directly for that person to stand up radically. How many of their daughters are amongst these children? But they do have an obligation to protect the lives of every citizen of this country… A typical African man has the obligation to take care of his wife and children but how many of them do so? If the wife just manages to secure a small job, that’s the end of feeding allowance! They’ll say “Are you not working?” It’s this same set of people that are shouting in the press that government is not doing anything. The problem with us as Nigerians is that we fail to see that we are all government and are supposed to work together on this matter. Initially, when Boko Haram came up, people kept quiet because it was political and was meeting their desires and needs. Now, everyone is panicking because it has touched us all. Some are even using it to become very popular, writing petitions here and there and shouting “Release our girls, release our girls” even when they do not mean it. Why is it that it’s the abduction of the girls that we’re crying about? What about the bombings that have killed so many Christians? Did we make any noise? Or didn’t we have innocent girls as well as pregnant women that died in those bomb blasts? I am not seeing this development as a separate entity but as one with the killings of the past. Again, how can government help? We know that the government is corrupt and that there are informants, right inside government, who always work the success of the administration. Now, what are you saying the solutions are? We must go back to the subject of corruption- corruption of the mind, emotions, spirit and whatever you can think of. I can bet you that if a party takes over from this party, they’re not going to do any better because it is still going to be run by human beings from this same country. I do not know which party will tell me they’re coming as a party that isn’t corrupt. The fact is that corruption is the root of Nigerian government’s inability to rescue those abducted girls till date. I say this because there are many who have information about where these girls are but are willing to keep quiet for one reason or the other. One step however will be to carryout investigations on companies selling those sophisticated ammunitions and armored cars, and trace the buyers and shipments. That way, a lot of culprits will be revealed.