Chibok Girls: Hundreds Of Women Protest In Lagos

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Hundreds of women and men staged a protest in Lagos State, western Nigeria, Monday, demanding the release of 234 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria by Islamic terrorists, Boko Haram.

The protesters wore white T-shirts with the inscription, “Women Arise Against Terror” and marched from the Lagos State Television premises through Awolowo Way, Ikeja to the State House, Ikeja, to deliver a protest letter to Governor Babatunde Fashola for onward delivery to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The protest, organised by Women Arise Initiative, marked the second time women took to the streets of Lagos to protest the release of the abducted children girl, in what has become a popular cliché: “Bring Back Our Girls.”

The protesters carried various placards and chanted solidarity songs as they marched to the State House demanding for the release of the girls.

Some of the placards read: NLC Women Committee Says Bring Back Our Girls, NLC Women Committee Says Enough o Boko Haram, “NLC Women Committee Says Federal Government Must Act Now On Boko Haram, NLC Women Committee Says Our girls Must Return Back To Us Safe And Alive, NLC Women Committee Says Federal Government Must Stop This Insurgency, We Say No To Terrorism In Nigeria, Boko Haram, ReleaseThe Innocent Schoolgirls, Mothers Are Crying, and Boko Haram, Stop Terrorism, among others.

Popular musician Femi Kuti was among the protesters.

Kuti said there is a need to put pressure on the Federal Government to rescue the girls from the terrorists, lamenting that it took the government about three weeks to act.

“It is sad that our government took three weeks to act. The government failed. This is why we have government to deal with this kind of issue. I am here to support Women Arise in this protest. The president should act fast to bring back these girls and if he cannot do it, he should step down. Boko Haram is a monster that is becoming uncontrollable. Jonathan has to let the nation know what is happening in Borno State,” he said.

Yoruba actor, Jide Kosoko, also said it was sad that 234 girls were kidnapped in the country with the government cannot do anything to salvage the situation. He appealed to Boko Haram to release the children.

“They should release the children now if actually they believe in God. If government is serious about this, they should find a way to stop this act. We need to pray for the release of these girls,” he stated.

Spokesperson of the protesters and President, Women Arise Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said it was alarming that this wicked act took place despite the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno State.

“It is equally horrifying that this wickedness was carried out for hours without interruption by security forces. And it is appalling to read the alleged statement credited to Amnesty International that intelligence reports were given to the security forces four hours before the incident,’ she said in the letter to the president.

“Mr. President, as mothers, sisters, fathers and brothers, we are pained that these children have remained at the mercy of terrorists with our security forces appearing hapless in the face of this grievous harm being done to our polity. We believe this is a moment for decisive leadership.

“In your last media chat, you made reference to the fact that these are trying times, not just for Nigeria, also for the world. However, we need to see you in action and not just talk the talk as demonstrated by strong and compassionate leadership in other climes,” Okei-Odumakin said.

Okei-Odumakin demanded that the government must ensure that all the kidnapped girls were rescued and when they are release, it must make adequate efforts to compensate them and their families for the emotional and physical trauma the kidnap must have caused them.

“When the girls are released, the government  must facilitate the completion of their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) which they were writing at the time of their capture and government must recognise them as heroines of the struggle against global terrorism and award them full scholarship to complete their education to serve as inspiration and encouragement to millions of young girls in the north and other parts of the country who are not enrolled in school or are contemplating ending their education having been terrified by this dastardly act.

“The government must bring to book the masterminds of this act and other forms of terrorism in the nation. We refuse to accept that there are no security reports on the sponsors of terror in the land,” she said.

The protesters also demanded that Jonathan must demonstrate a strong sense of leadership and remove the bad eggs in the nation’s security echelon that were not on top of their game probably because they have sympathy for the terrorists or have totally imbibed their ideology.

She added that the government must work assiduously to secure the nation’s borders and collaborate with the presidents of Chad, Niger and Cameroon to arrest the influx of terrorists into Nigeria.