Chibok Girls: Community Boo Gov, Minister

Allege Conspiracy, Accuse Officials Of Complicity

Shettima, Ndume Differ On Information

By Yahaya WAKILI, Maiduguri

Events that attended the marking of the second year anniversary of the abduction of over 200 School Girls in Chibok by Boko Haram has once more generated global concerns that the government has not done enough to rescue the girls, contrary to the campaign promises of President muhammadu Buhari that the girls would be rescued within the first few weeks of his assumption of office.
While the world marked the day in different styles in different places, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima and the Senator representing Southern Borno, Mohammed Ali Ndume got the shocks of theirm lives last Thursday when the Chobok Community lampooned them during their own visit to the Community in commemoration of the second year anniversary of the abduction of the Girls, for failing to live up to expectations.
Our correspondent who accompanied the team of top Federal and State Government officials, including the minister of Environment, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, reports that, members of the community continually, booed the Governor and Senator Ndume who were trying to exonerate themselves from blames in the drama that led to the kidnap of the school girls.
The community was said to have been irked by Governor Shettima’s remarks to the effect that, he tried shifting blames over the kidnap saga to the immediate past administration of Goodluck Ibele Jonathan, which he accused of hoarding information on the incident, stressing that, he was not aware of the incident in his domain until ten days after the girls had been whisked away.
Governor Shettima told his audience that the present administration was not to blame over the abduction, nay the failure to rescue the girls, only to be shouted down by spokesman of the community, Mr Kekki, who replied that, while President Buhari may have reasonable alibi, for not being in office at the time of the incident, Governor Shettima was only playing the ostrich, as he was the Governor of Borno State at the time.
According to Kekki, It is common knowledge in the community that the Governor was only trying nto shield himself and other Government officials from blame, as he was adequately informed of the impending danger to the girls, but still insisted that the examination must continue, leading to the withdrawal of children of staffers of the school, shortly before the incident.
Our correspondent reports that the community was further enraged by the seeming contradictory submissions of speakers at the occasion, when the senator representing the area, who is equally the senate leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume contradicted Governor Shettima’s submission, that information got to them seven days after and not ten.
Subsequent attempts by both the Governor and the senator to harmonize positions failed to cut the ice with the community, as they continued shouting at them, accusing them of compromising the welfare of the Chibok girls for political reasons.
Thoroughly embarrassed delegation returned to Maiduguri with a different tale, having told reporters in the entourage not to report the issue, but failed to take cognizance of the presence of our correspondent, who has been operating under cover for security reasons


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