Pres. Jonathan: Why I have not visited Chibok

                        

ONE hundred days after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram terrorists, President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, met with parents of the girls. At the closed-door meeting were 53 of the girls, who had earlier escaped from their abductors as well as representatives of Chibok community and other stakeholders.
The meeting which started at about 11 o’clock ended at about 2:15 pm. Also at the meeting were Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State; Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State and the Senate President, David Mark.
An earlier attempt to hold the meeting did not materialize as representatives of the community declined to meet the President after meeting Pakistani girl-child education activist, Malala Yousafzai.
Speaking on the outcome of the Abuja meeting,Dr. Reuben Abati (Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity), said President Jonathan reassured the Chibok community that his Administration was doing everything humanly possible to rescue the girls and return them safely to their parents and appealed for their patience, understanding and cooperation.
Quoting the President, Abati said: “Anyone who gives you the impression that we are aloof and that we are not doing what we are supposed to do to get the girls out is not being truthful.
“Our commitment is not just to get the girls out, it is also to rout Boko Haram completely from Nigeria. But we are very, very mindful of the safety of the girls. We want to return them all alive to their parents. If they are killed in any rescue effort, then we have achieved nothing.”
The President said that although he was yet to visit Chibok in the aftermath of the abductions, his heart was constantly with the traumatized parents and people, and his desire was to visit them when their daughters have been freed and they can receive him with smiling faces of joy, rather than with tears of anguish.
“Our duty now is to take all relevant steps to recover our girls alive and our primary interest is getting them out as safely as possible. I will not want to say much, but we are doing everything humanly possible to get the girls out.
“This is not the time for talking much. This is the time for action. We will get to the time that we will tell stories. We will get to the time that we will celebrate and I assure you that, by God’s grace, that time will come soon,” President Jonathan told them.
Responding to appeals from the community leaders for more help in overcoming some of the challenges imposed on Chibok and neighbouring communities by the Boko Haram insurgency, the President said that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Federal Medical Agencies will intensify their efforts to provide them with additional relief and assistance.
He also assured them that Chibok and other communities in the three North-Eastern States most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency will be the first beneficiaries of the Victims’ Support Fund, the Presidential Initiative for the North-East, the Safe Schools Initiative and other developmental programmes which the Federal Government is evolving to address the damage, losses, setbacks, economic and social dislocations occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Speaking on the issue during the inauguration of the Victims Support Fund Committee last week, President Jonathan, who is seeking $1billion loan to buy equipment to combat the insurgency scourge, said: “The reality today is that, we are confronted with individuals whose minds have been so twisted and tutored to believe they are doing God a service. Let me reiterate clearly that evil will never prevail over good. The blood that is being wasted everyday by those who take advantage of the vulnerability of our people to spread extremist doctrines and recruit them for murderous errands are enemies of humanity. We will never waste any effort in bringing the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity to justice.”
Declaring that the days of Boko Haram are numbered and our war against terrorism is gathering momentum, he called “on all Nigerians to stand together in support of our security agencies against terrorism.
They are working night and day under difficult circumstances. It is unfortunate that when our security personnel prevent 1000 attacks, it is the one attack that succeeds that makes headline news and tends to portray our security agencies as not doing enough. It is part of the realities we have to deal with. We owe Nigerians nothing but victory over terror. The life of every Nigerian is precious and we will continue to work round the clock to put an end to this insurgency.”

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