Chibok Schoolgirls: I am not weak, Jonathan says

“I am deeply concerned, however, that my silence as we work to accomplish the task at hand is being misused by partisan critics…”

Worried by local and international criticism, President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday explained his government’s seeming inaction in rescuing the over 200 abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

Mr. Jonathan, in an article he wrote for the Washington Post, said he was “deeply concerned” about the abduction. He said he knows his silence on the abduction “is being misused by partisan critics to suggest inaction or even weakness.”

“I have had to remain quiet about the continuing efforts by Nigeria’s military, police and investigators to find the girls kidnapped in April from the town of Chibok by the terrorist group Boko Haram,” the president said. 

“I am deeply concerned, however, that my silence as we work to accomplish the task at hand is being misused by partisan critics to suggest inaction or even weakness.”

The Nigerian leader said his “silence has been necessary to avoid compromising the details of our investigation.”

“But let me state this unequivocally,” he said, “my government and our security and intelligence services have spared no resources, have not stopped and will not stop until the girls are returned home and the thugs who took them are brought to justice.”

Mr. Jonathan defended the Nigerian military in its operations against the Boko Haram.

“On my orders, our forces have aggressively sought these killers in the forests of northern Borno State, where they are based,” he said. “They are fully committed to defending the integrity of their country.”

The president said the federal government was making all necessary efforts to ensure that the girls, abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, are freed.

“My heart aches for the missing children and their families. I am a parent myself, and I know how awfully this must hurt. Nothing is more important to me than finding and rescuing our girls,” he said.

“Since 2010, thousands of people have been killed, injured, abducted or forced by Boko Haram, which seeks to overwhelm the country and impose its ideology on all Nigerians.

“My government is determined to make that impossible. We will not succumb to the will of terrorists,” he added.

Mr. Jonathan, whose administration, PREMIUM TIMES reported, has just hired a foreign public relations consultant for N195 million to help polish the governments poor image globally on the handling of the Chibok girls crisis, said the abduction of the girls should not be “seen as an isolated event.”

“Terrorism knows no borders,” he said.

He explained that this month, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Britain and the United States established an External Intelligence Response Unit to share security information on threats by groups like Boko Haram in West Africa.

“I propose that we build on this step to establish an enduring, worldwide commitment to destroying terrorism and those who finance or give safe haven to the terrorists,” he said. “In September, I will urge the UN General Assembly to establish a UN-coordinated system for sharing intelligence; and, if necessary, special forces and law enforcement to confront terrorism wherever it occurs.”

The Nigerian leader also spoke on some of the challenges encountered in the fight against the Boko Haram.

“In Nigeria, there are political, religious, and ethnic cleavages to overcome if we are to defeat Boko Haram,” he said. “We need greater understanding and outreach between Muslims and Christians. We also know that, as it seeks to recruit the gullible, Boko Haram exploits the economic disparities that remain a problem in our country.”

He said his administration was addressing such challenges through such steps as bringing stakeholders together and creating a safe schools initiative, a victims’ support fund, and a presidential economic recovery program for north-eastern Nigeria.

“We are also committed to ridding our country of corruption and safeguarding human and civil rights and the rule of law,” he said.

“Something positive can come out of the situation in Nigeria: most importantly, the return of the Chibok girls, but also new international cooperation to deny havens to terrorists and destroy their organizations wherever they are — whether in the forests of Nigeria, on the streets of New York or sanctuaries in Iraq or Pakistan.

“Those who value humanity, civilization, and the innocence of children can do no less,” he said.

Premium Times