He also mocked President Muhammadu Buhari for promising to “#SecureTheNorth and not long after, declared that Boko Haram had been defeated.”
Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, has called for the release of the remaining Chibok schoolgirls still in captivity.
It has been eight years since 276 schoolgirls of Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS), Chibok, Borno State, were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.
The girls were preparing for their terminal examination when the insurgents attacked in the middle of the night.
The incident was followed by a global outcry that birthed the #BringBackOurGirls movement, and despite continued efforts to secure the freedom of the girls, only 103 have been rescued so far.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Sowore asked the government to bring back the girls without further delay.
He also mocked President Muhammadu Buhari for promising to “#SecureTheNorth and not long after, declared that Boko Haram had been defeated.”
“While the Nigerian government, time and time again, has failed you, all hope is not lost,” he added.
The statement read, “Today, April 14th, 2022. It has been EIGHT YEARS since the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in Chibok, Borno state. Eight long years. I remember in the US when I first heard and reported about the kidnapping of the girls.
“At that time, many people wondered, how can 276 girls just be taken away without a trace? Just like that? It was unbelievable, but time has shown that the kidnapping of the girls was just the beginning of a very long period, which continues today, in the dark history of the PDP-APC run Nigeria.
“At that time, many people blamed the PDP particularly President Goodluck Jonathan and the incoming APC party promised to bring back the girls. In fact, Buhari promised he would #SecureTheNorth and not long after declared that Boko Haram had been defeated. All this, we know, was a sordid tale of lies.
“Over the past two weekends, over 150 people in villages in Plateau state have been murdered, and it is so commonplace that it does not even make the news anymore. Over the last few weeks, the Kaduna train bombings and kidnappings are yet to be resolved, with so many captives still lost to their families, who are negotiating desperately as a failed government continues to ignore the plight of its people. What a country!
“But let us go back to the matter at hand. Today, I want to empathize with the parents of the Chibok young women, with the young women still in captivity with no hope of ever returning, and getting reunited with their families, young women who have been freed but still bear the scars of their captivity on their bodies, minds and hearts, I want to say to them, you are not forgotten.
“You are not forsaken. While the Nigerian government, time and time again, has failed you, all hope is not lost. All hope is not lost because we know that our great country can be better, and can rescue the women, men and children from the grips of insecurity, violence, lack of respect for human life and its sanctity. We stand with you, the powerful people of Chibok, this day and every day.
“To highlight your plight, and to promise that we will do everything in our power to right the wrongs of history, to bring back the girls who have become young women, and to ensure that we create a safer country for the millions of children that rely on us, to create a place where they can be free to be children, and grow and have happy and healthy lives.
“Today is a sad day, but we must not let the sadness of today overwhelm us, rather, it should hasten our steps and deepen our resolve to rescue our great nation from the abyss.”