Chibok Parents Calls On Buhari To Resign If He Cannot Rescue Girls
Chibok Parents have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately rescue the girls from captivity or tender his resignation.
The perplexed parents on Thursday affixed with the #BringBackOurGirls coalition for another protest march to the Presidential Villa. However they were again stopped by armed policemen.
A representative of the parents, Rev. Enoch Mark, accused the Federal Government of not doing enough to secure the rescue the abducted girls, urging the government to negotiate for their release.
Mark, whose two daughters were among the 219 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, disclosed that he suffered a stroke while worrying about his daughters while insisting that Buhari must negotiate with Boko Haram for the release of the schoolgirls.
In his words, “We cast our votes for Buhari because he promised to rescue our girls. Now, the parents are asking you, Mr. President, to meet the insurgents and make a decision.
“Either use the military force or go for negotiation; some countries are ready to give you a helping hand. What are you waiting for? Are you not interested in bringing back our girls?
“We have intelligence agencies in Nigeria; there is nothing in this country that they don’t know. Why didn’t you give them orders to bring back our girls?
“Are you not a General? You know what is happening and you know where our daughters are. Buhari, if you feel that you are incapable of rescuing the girls, step down now and give it (power) to someone else. We have many intelligent persons in the country who can handle this situation. You cannot tell us that you don’t know where the girls are.”
Mark, who now uses a walking stick, alleged that there's been communication breakdown between the Federal Government and the parents of the chibok girls, citing the Malaysian government’s handling of the Malaysian MH370 air crash, noting that the government regularly reached out to the families of the crash victims during the incident.
“For two months now, I have not been able to sleep; I had stroke while thinking of my two daughters. General Buhari, had your daughters been among these girls, how will you feel? How will you feel with your daughter in enemies’ hands? You are responsible for the rescue of these girls. You are responsible for my daughters’ safety.
“When the Malaysian plane crashed, the Malaysian government was in touch with the families of the victims, but you are not talking to Chibok girls’ parents,” he cited.
The saddened father said Buhari did not empathise with the Chibok parents when they visited him at the Presidential Villa in January.
“You intimidated us; you said you were frustrated, you were not happy with us. Are we not Nigerians? If Buhari feels he does not know (the girls’ location), let him step down and hand over to someone else,” Mark said.
In a statement issued by the group,the Co-convener, BBOG, Oby Ezekwesili, affirmed that the members would march to the Presidential Villa again in 72 hours if there was no clear-cut feedback from the Federal Government.
While noting the attack on Shawa Village in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State and acknowledged the courage and gallantry of the soldiers in the frontlines, including the Multinational Joint Task Force and the Civilian JTF, and urged them to remain resilient in the face of attacks.
The BBOG called for a probe into the handling of salaries and payment of troops, saying complaints about their poor feeding and allowances were utterly below par. Also challenging the government to demonstrate the political will to rescue the girls by taking a sharp action on the matter.
The group also said that the claim by the military that it had fatally injured Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, made it the fourth time that the security forces had announced that they had taken out the king pin.
