Parents and relatives of 219 schoolgirls abducted two years ago from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Chibok local government area of Borno State had responded emotionally today at a meeting with state officials as well as representatives of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.[slideshow]46276[/slideshow]
A majority of the parents broke down in tears as they expressed their desire to reunite with their children abducted from their hostel by Boko Haram insurgents two years ago in a daring operation close to midnight.
Parents wore depressed faces or cried when government officials arrived at the school where the attack took place on April 14, 2014.
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, a female Minister from Kaduna State, a founding member of the Bring Back Our Girls group and now Presidential Adviser on Social Protection, Ms. Maryam Uwais, another founding member of the BBOG, Hadiza Bala Usman, Senate Majority Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Senator Binta Mashi from Adamawa State and other officials from Borno Government were at Chibok to meet the parents.
Escorted by heavily armed security operatives, the government delegation traveled by road from Maiduguri for about three and a half hours passing through sights of communities devastated by Boko Haram attacks along Maiduguri to Damboa Road. The officials left Chibok in the evening.
Yakubu K.K., the leader of an association of the abducted girls' parents, read an emotional poetry written by the parents to express how much they miss their daughters and hope for their return.
"We don't know whether you are dead or alive, whether you have eaten or not, whether you are forced to do things you wouldn't want to do or not but we miss you and pray for you," he read as numerous parents wept.
The parents expressed concern about the government's silence on the report of a Presidential fact-finding committee set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan to ascertain the facts surrounding the abduction of their children. They demanded that the committee's findings be released to enable them to know whether anyone has questions to answer.
The committee, whose members were mostly selected by President Jonathan, had submitted a report in 2014. The former president never made the report public.
Governor Kashim Shettima said his administration shares the pains of the Chibok parents and was working hard with the Federal Government for the release of the abducted schoolgirls.
"We now have in President Muhammadu Buhari someone with a very strong commitment to finding your daughters and ours. We are jointly working very hard, and we won't stop until they are reunited with you. I have daughters; I know exactly how you feel," the governor told the grieving parents.
The Minister of the Environment, Ms. Amina Mohammed, who led the Federal Government delegation, said President Buhari sent a delegation to show the extent of his affection for the traumatized parents. "He wants your daughters back, and he wants all other captives back," she said, adding, "he wants to end this insurgency, and he is doing everything to achieve these important objectives that top his priorities since assumption of office."
Senators Mohammed Ali Ndume and Binta Mashi, who spoke separately, echoed remarks by Mr. Shettima and Ms. Mohammed. Mr. Mashi addressed the parents with Biblical scriptures trying to strengthen the faith of the parents, a majority who are Christians. Mr. Mashi, a Christian from Michika in Adamawa State, ruled out religious motives for the abduction.
"Insurgents have no regard for religion; they attack anyone no matter your religion," he said. Added the senator, "Those who founded the BringBackOurGirls coalition are mostly Muslims like Hadiza Bala Usman, who came all the way from Kaduna State, and she is here with us to stand by you."
A founding member of the BringBackOurGirls coalition, Hadiza Bala Usman, broke down in tears when it was her time to address the parents. "I know exactly how you feel," she said fighting back tears. Mrs. Maryam Uwais, also a founding member of the BBOG, called on the parents to be strong. "We have daughters; we know what it means to have a daughter abducted, and this is why we will stand by you," she said.