By Emmanuel Ogebe
“Is CIA saying they asked the Chibok girls to follow them back but they refused to be rescued?” International Human rights lawyer Ogebe knocks US claim it rescued 30 Chibok girls and dares the Nigerian government to publish expenditures on Chibok girls he brought to America in this explosive 10th anniversary interview of the world’s longest running mass abduction. The lawyer offered to publish his expenditure on the girls in America who the government forcefully took over if they would saying they misspent millions of Nigeria’s scarce resources.
Video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ozw8MnALLh4
TRANSCRIPT :
CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION_ REFLECTING ON THE IMPACT AND PROGRESS AFTER A DECADE
LN Broadcaster: Ten years have passed since the horrifying abduction of 276 school girls from the government’s girls’ secondary school in Chibok, Northern Nigeria by the terrorist group Boko Haram. This tragic event sparked global outrage and brought attention to the plight of the victims and the broader issue of terrorism in Nigeria.
As this solemn anniversary is marked, it is essential to reflect on the impact of the Chibok abduction and assess the progress made in addressing the underlying issues that led to it.
A speech by President Buhari: We shall redouble efforts to ensure that we fulfill our pledge of bringing the remaining girls back home. Already, the credible first step has been taken and government will sustain the effort until all the remaining girls return safely. These 21 girls will be given adequate and comprehensive medical, nutritional, and psychological care and support.
LN Broadcaster: The Chibok abduction had profound and far-reaching consequences, both nationally and internationally. It highlighted the vulnerability of school children in conflict zones and exposed the brutality of Boko Haram’s insurgency.
The hashtag “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign galvanized global support for the victims and their families. But despite widespread condemnation, many of the girls remain missing to this day.
Speech by one of bring back our girls member: On one hand, hope has been rekindled, because you saw them, we’ve seen 15 girls, they’re looking well. We don’t know what they’ve gone through, but at least they’re alive and they’re looking well, so we’re happy about that. Their parents have identified them, and so hope has been rekindled, but at the same time the heartbreak has come again, and unfortunately the parents whose children were not there are devastated. All the parents in Chibok today, they’re at the school, they’re having a program to mark today and to demand and pressure the government and beg the government to do whatever it can to bring their children back.
LN Broadcaster: The psychological trauma inflicted on the survivors and their communities continues to reverberate. Underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive support and rehabilitation efforts. Despite efforts made by Nigeria Security Forces over the years, the challenge of schools being a soft target for terrorists, persist.
The latest been the school abduction of more than 200 school children in Kuriga of Kaduna State. On today’s episode of The Agenda, we wade into the controversies and allegations surrounding the Chibok school mass kidnapping to set the record straight 10 years after with many still in captivity.
Henry Williams (LN News Presenter): Well, thank you for joining us on another edition of the program. And yes, we will be taking a look at the Chibok school abduction, reflecting on the impact and progress after a decade. My name is Henry Williams. Welcome to The Agenda. And on today’s program, we’re taking a look at some of our talking points on the program.
We’re revolving around the politics behind kidnappings. We also will be looking at impact of abduction on victims. as well as advocacy for victims of kidnapping. Well, there is so much to unpack on today’s edition of the program. As we mark 10 years since the Chibok school kidnapping that took place in April, 2014.
Our guest is Emmanuel Ogebe. He’s human rights activist, and he will be joining us from Washington DC in the United States of America.
Well, getting to know who this gentleman isEmmanuel Ogebe Esquire is a prominent U.S based international human rights lawyer in Washington, was exiled to America after abduction and torture by late dictator, Sani Abacha, for protesting the assassination of pro-democracy icon Kudirat Abiola over the Nigerian 1993 election.
Now in Diaspora, advocating in multiple continents, including Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. He plays a role in shaping U.S he played a role in shaping U.S Congressional and foreign policy in Nigeria’s quest for a stable democracy. His dogged defense of a Nigerian citizen trafficked abroad and sentenced to death.
Pro bono for 15 years led to victory at Indonesia’s Supreme Court, which freed him in December 2023. And with that just in a nutshell of what this gentleman is all about, I’d like to welcome Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe to The Agenda.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:Hey, thank you very much Henry. It’s always a pleasure to be with you.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Great to have you Barrister and such on a fateful day like this, marking 10 years since the kidnap of Chibok school girls took place here in Northern parts of Nigeria and April exactly looking at the situation, there are events that have taken place today in respect of, you know, what happened on that fateful day. Talking about this let me. Take us to that event by the Murtala Mohamed Foundation. I do believe you were part of that conversation today.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: No, I wasn’t part of any conversation today. As you know I’m in Washington DC and it’s morning right here now. So whatever events you were referring to may have been In Nigeria where it’s evening.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter):Alright, let’s quickly take a look at the timeline before we delve into these issues that you are seeking to unravel before us.
You are pain by some narratives that you want to set straight. Let’s look at the timeline of the Chibok School kidnapping in 2014 276 Doctor Chibok School Girls. With that 57 escaped shortly after the abduction. And then in 2018, Salome Koju, she was rescued on January the 4th.
Moving on, we had 276, okay, still talking about the abduction of the girls. In 2017, Rakiya Gali Abubakar she was released 82 released after negotiations on the 6th of May and in 2016 Amina Ali. was released on May 17th and after negotiations 21 girls were also released on October the 13th.
Maryam Ali was released on November the 15th. So, I’m trying to take us on a journey here. And so far, we’ve had 185 Chibok [girls returned, and 91 still missing.
Well, can you confirm that Barrister Ogebe?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Let me clarify for you here. Some of what you said was slightly inaccurate. The first girls to escaped within 24 to 48 hours of the abductions. Those were 57 girls.
Now, the first girl to escape after that, where it was actually Amina Ali who escaped in May, 2016. So that was two years after the abduction. And then the next girls who were released were actually released by negotiations, prisoner exchange, and ransom. As I stated, the article, which I released last week, and those were 21 girls.
And then after that Maryam Ali escaped also in 2016. So that is the proper sequence of the first few escapees and those released.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Oh, okay. Was released in 2016. Maryam Ali Miyanga…..Okay.
Alright. You have given the proper narrative there. Can you confirm in 2022 about 1,2,3,4,5,6 over 10 of those girls were still released?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Well, in 2022. I’m not sure the actual number that emerged in 2022. But again, there was no release. There has been no release. Since 2017, the last release of Chibok Girls was in 2017. There have been only two releases of Chibok girls in the history of Nigeria. The first release is the one I refer to you now in 2016, 21 Chibok girls were released under a prisoner swap and ransom arrangement where 21 were released, and then the second batch of 82 were released in 2017.
That’s it. In 2022, about two or three girls escaped and were recovered by the Nigerian military. In 2023 again another two or three girls were similarly recovered by the Nigerian military.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): All right. Barrister Ogebe you were part of the hashtag BBOG movement and you have made some assertions, the claiming that the United States did not, the American government did not, how do I put it now?Said free these girls. It was the Nigerian government. You were very pained by the narrative brought by the book Sisterhood theSecret History of Women at the CIA by Lisa Mundy. And you really want to set the record straight on the narrative that she brought about, talking about the CIA being instrumental to the release of these girls.
Can you share your thoughts with us on this?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:Yeah. So let me be very clear. I’m a human rights lawyer. I have been for over 30 years. You know I have fought military misrule in Nigeria. I have fought military democratic misrule in Nigeria consistently for that entire period of time. America has been an ally in some of the struggles, to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.
America has been helpful in providing me political asylum when my own country imprisoned and tortured me, you know, so it is very sad for me to see a situation where America is lying about rescuing Chibok girls. Which they did not do. I was very shocked when a dear friend and colleague, an American law professor drew my attention to a publication that claimed that the CIA rescued that 30 Chibok girls, a book that was released just a few months ago, which you just referenced the secret history of women in CIA.
And when I read it. It was just full of falsehoods. Nothing like that has happened. And what that tells me is this, is another example of white appropriation. I don’t know what it is about this Chibok story that people are just crawling out of the woodwork, trying to claim what is not theirs. The fact of the matter Is that when it comes to the release of those 103 girls, there are three heroes who were responsible, who were the remote catalysts for the freedom of those 103 girls. As I said in my article One was the media and especially CNN. How did that happen? CNN leaked the proof of life video of the chibok girls that Boko Haram had given to the Buhari regime and asked them to pay ransom and release prisoners, so that the girls would be released and Buhari refused to watch the video and refused to act on it since 2016 that he didn’t want to be emotionally disturbed. So, he refused to watch it. So, CNN obtained it and released the video to the public. And when the entire world saw the children begging for their lives for the first time since 2014, he touched a nerve. I was in Abuja at the time and I was with the parents of the children who were shown on the video and the whole world saw it. And so there was an outcry and pressure were mounted on Buhari to do something about children. That was one factor.
The second factor was the appearance of Amina Ali. After two years in the forest, Amina escaped and came out with her baby. And when her baby was seen and everybody saw that these girls were still alive and one of them was able to come out again, the world was touch. It went around the world.
I remember waking up that morning my phone rang a journalist from London called me. Can I confirm that A Chibok girl just came out from a captivity? I woke up, I called my contacts in Nigeria fortunately, I was in touch with Amina’s family and all of that and they confirmed to me that it was Amina So it had it a reverberateeffect around the world. So that put pressure.
And then thirdly, the global bring back our girl’scampaign in the United States Congress. Myself, the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi congressman Frederica Wilson, congresswoman, Sheila Jackson Lee you know so many people came together to mount pressure. These were the factors that forced Buhari to take it seriously and bring these girls back.
So for the CIA to now come and claim that they organized an operation and rescued 30 girls is false. It was 21 girls that Buhari paid for their rescue.
HENRY: Why do you think the CIA would want to change the narrative,
Barrister Ogebe:
That is what we’re talking about. Anything that you see, there’s a saying that success has many fathers and failure is an orphan.
You know, look at some of the efforts we did, you know, like I took Chibok girls to America and put them in schools. People who didn’t do that, who had no vision now began to compete against me. Now went to go and carry the girls out to one and claim credits for what they didn’t do. This is the kind of world in which we are.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter) Barrister, let’s talk about that aspect. There is another side, some people are alluding to that the hashtag BBOG was somewhat of a cash cow for some NGOs to actually make money from international donors. What’s your position on that?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: I don’t know how it was a cash cow to make money for international donors. Because what I can tell you is this, the international community contributed millions of dollars to Nigeria to make schools safe. And from that time till now, schools have not been made safe in Nigeria. I can tell you that I sponsored Chibok girls to the United States. Who are not being taken care of by the Nigerian government and guess what? Up till now, as I’m speaking to you, those that the Nigerian government took over, if you hear how much they have spent on them, millions, you cannot see a commensurate graduation and qualification compared to those who millions were not spent on.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): That’s really sad because in your reports, you also cited that the rights groups and stakeholders are criticized in Nigerian government for the treatment of the freed girls were held in Abuja were not allowed to see their parents as well. Can you share more about that?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:You see, it’s a very sad situation. You see when Amina Ali came out back from captivity, she was held incomunicado in the villa and in other locations for a long time. And it was so bad, they were bringing a malam to come and instruct her in religious studies. And at a point she had to protest and say, “I was a Christian when I was abducted, I have escaped, Why are you forcing me? and bringing me an instructor in Islam. I’m supposed to be free now. Let me go back to my religion”. So that was a problem. The government was trying to force her into the religion that the terrorists had forced her into. Then, you know, of course the issue of releasing her to her family, they did not do that.
As you saw in the article. Now, when the other 21 girls came back, the same thing, they kept them in Abuja for a long time, didn’t allow them to go to their village. In fact, one of the girls who came back attempted suicide while in the custody of the Nigerian government. Attempted suicide. So, the question arose, why would a girl who was in the forest with Boko and didn’t attempt suicide now is freed and is in Abuja now want to commit suicide under the Nigerian government that tells you that conditions under the Nigerian government were worse than conditions under Boko Haram in the forest.
Now, let me even go a step further. One of the Chibok girls who was taking from my sponsorship here in the U.S she was living in a $2 million house here in America. Yeah. The Nigerian government took her and put her in an apartment in the Bronx Ghetto in New York.Sometime later, I heard that she attempted suicide. So anything that the Nigerian government involves itself in, is bad for whoever is under it. If you look at the Nigerian country now, it is bad for whoever is under it. That is why people are fleeing. And that is exactly what happened to them.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter: A very serious allegations Barrister Ogebe, did you bring these things up before now? And exactly can you, based on your submissions, could we allude to the sense that these girls the way they were treated and the approach of the seemingly nonchalant approach to the kidnap was because they were not Muslims?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: The facts of the matter are very clear, Chibok, or called Chibok is the most Christian local government in the whole of Borno states.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): And we can’t hear you clearly. Your audio seems to be muffled.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:I said Chibok is the most Christian local government in the whole of Borno states and so 90% of the girls that were abducted were Christians. Over 276 girls were taken away and as we speak, over 90 of those girls are still not back till today,10 years later.
All right, let us look at Dabchi. Dabchi was predominantly Muslim girls that were taken. Only one was Christian. After one month, all the girls came back, only one girl didn’t come back and the only one girl that didn’t come back was Leah, the Christian. How can you say that it is not a factor of religion?
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): That’s really sad Barrister Ogebe, now looking at all these allegations right now. What can we learn from what has happened in 2014? Do you think government has taken steps? You talked about the issues of the Safe School Initiative, which was actually brought up by Gordon Brown, if I’m correct, spearheaded by him through the U.N to ensure that these schools are safer, children can go to schools. Do you think government has actually responded to the insecurity concerning the schools?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Well, from my recollection, a minimum of about $44 million was contributed by, I believe it was Japan, Canada, and several countries. $44 million was contributed for safe schools’ initiative. As at one to two years ago, it was reported that Nigerian schools are still less than 50 percent safe. So it is clear. And when it comes to mass school abductions, Nigeria is still the school mass abductions’ capital of the world. Last month, in the first week of March, over 200 school students were abducted from one school in one day. Since Chibok, there have been nothing less than half a dozen mass school abductions, equivalent to what happened in Chibok. So, the situation in Nigeria has deteriorated. It hasn’t improved.
So there’s nothing to be happy or proud about whether we have learned any lessons.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Are you aware of the status of Chibok right now, especially the schools? Because when this incident happened, the schools were burnt down. And total facility was destroyed. Are you aware if government has replaced those structures, if those facilities have been replaced?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Well, there was a lot of controversy because the federal government gave the Nigerian army, I believe it was the call engineers or so. I Don’t know if it was N2.5 billion to rebuild the school and they were supposed to. rebuild the school and then there was a tug of war because Borno State wanted to rebuild the school.
You see, at a point it became over who will get the contract, who will do this, who will do that. There was a lot of infighting and which delayed it for years. But my understanding is that it has now been rebuilt. But I don’t know the condition and status of the school. But I can tell you that we were on a fact-finding mission to Dapchi, Leah’s school on the sixth anniversary of her abduction in February. And the school is abandoned. Leah’s school is abandoned and animals have taken over. There are no classes going on nothing.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Okay. Let’s take some sound bites from five years. You know, after the kidnap from activists who took to the streets to protest for the return of these girls, let’s hear their words and see as find out if anything has changed since then.
A Cry For Lack Of Education From Chibok Parents
Parent 1: All we need is for our children, our people to continue to further their education. But for now, two years, no school, no learning, no work.
Parent 2: We have been begging government to open even a secondary school, government secondary school for boys. Up to now, nothing. Only this female school. And the female school now, where is it?
And really Boko Haram has achieved their aim. They’re saying that they don’t want the Western education.
Parent 3: You know, we are redundant. We are abandoned by the government, in fact. We are very sorry to mention. Because since this thing happens, we have a lot of children living at home without doing anything. And we are very, we are poor enough. No road, no market, no water supply, no electricity.
Parent 4: When I see my daughter coming back to me, I will feel such joy. joy in my heart. All the sickness and other things will disappear and I will be very happy in my life.
Parent 5: It is exactly five years today. We know Nigerian government has tried, soldier too, they have tried. But up to now, we are still looking for 112 girls in the hand of captors Of which we as a parent, we want God intervention.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter):All right. And that brings back some memories. Parents at that time, you know, asking government bring back their girls, bring back their children. And right now, it’s only about, about 90 over 90 are still in captivity. Barrister Ogebe, do you think the parents have given up on these children?
Apparently, it’s it looks like a lost cause. Who do they turn to? How do they get redress in all of this? It seems they’ve been forgotten and left behind.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:You know, it’s a very sad situation indeed. I Never forget, you know, one of the Chibok girls, one of the 10 Chibok girls I brought to America. She phoned me from school one day and she said, uncle, my auntie called me and she said, that is there anybody who is still talking about our missing daughters in America? And I told her, I said that uncle Emmanuel is the only one who is still talking. And she said, tell him to please remember to talk about my daughter. And so I asked her to give me the auntie’s number and I have been in touch with the auntie, you know, and you know, I tried to continue to speak up. But sadly, sadly, the sad thing is that in Nigeria, people don’t understand how to separate human rights from politics. You don’t know how to separate wrong from rights.
Any human being born of a woman should understand the importance of trying to recover a child for his parents. It’s not an APC issue. It’s not a PDP issue. It is a humanity issue. It is a kingdom issue. So long as you were created in the image of God, you should see divinity in trying to restore a child to his parents.
How the Buhari administration decided that this was a basis for attacking people who spoke out that they should help bring the children back is another issue altogether. True. The Jonathan administration felt that it was an attack on the administration. What they did not attack with violence. What they did was, you know, with propaganda, they shared money to lobbies.They paid lobbies in America a million dollars to fight us. But when Buhari regime came in, they came in with military intelligence, military operations, NSA. They were fighting us with death, real death. I had to sue them in court. They wanted to, they said they would revoke my Nigerian passport. The Nigerian ambassador in Washington wrote a memo to revoke my Nigerian passport. I had to report them to the U.S government because it was a crime. So, that was how bad it was. And so, we were the ones who were giving hope to the parents because we kept speaking and encouraging them. But the fights became too much and some of them succumbed. A lot of them died. From my understanding, over 25 parents died.
One of the girls who came back last year, when she came back two weeks after her father died. So, her father did not leave to see the return of his daughter two weeks later. But I will tell you this, the mere fact that three girls came back nine years after tells you that there is hope that even where the government failed to rescue them, the girls are rescuing themselves. I must say we have to give some credit to the Nigerian military because it is their operations, that are creating the enabling environment. To help these girls come out. One of my happiest days was recently when I was in Nigeria, I think it was last year. I was watching TV and I saw the first lady Remi Tinubu on TV hugging a Chibok girl who had just escaped. You know, it really touched me because it wasn’t over politicized like the Buhari era, you know? She hugged her, welcomed her, and spoke kindly to her. You know, so I think that there is hope that with the proper, you know military action and the girls continuing to escape by themselves that we will get more and more of the girls back. But let me be clear as I said in my article just released yesterday part two of my article 10 reasons why the U.S did not rescue the Chibok girls.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): We’ll take a quick break. When we come back, we want you to give us those 10 reasons. And before we begin to talk about the impact on the victims, and as you have given some light of hope that it’s possible that these girls can still return, we’d like to see how possible that is.
Stay with us.
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Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Great to have you back. You’re still watching The Agenda. And yeah, we’ve been reflecting on the moments, the emotions surrounding the Chibok school kidnap 10 years after today, when 276 girls of Chibok school were taken away until date, about 91 are still in captivity. My guest, Emmanuel Ogebe, a human rights lawyer, Yeah, it’s been a very, very much involved in the seeing the return of these girls. Right from the moment these things happened, he’s been in the thick of things and shares with us and clarifying some of the narratives, you know giving us the right record of what actually happened. Well, Barrister, thank you for sharing more insights on this. And you, especially, were pained when the U.S the book Sisterhood was giving the wrong narrative. And you have ten reasons to actually assert that account was totally wrong. Can you quickly share those ten reasons that you have to share with us before we, we move into other things?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:Well, you know, there are so many of them you know, I don’t know that I can go into all of them offhand.
But you know, let me start with the one that pained me the most, which was you know, why don’t you, if you have it in front of you, number 10, if you don’t mind reading it. Since I don’t have it in front of me.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): I actually don’t have it here, but I know I thought you would have it being the writer.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Alright Yeah, let me just say briefly so reason number 10 was the book claims that according to the CIA they wanted to recover all of the girls, but according to them some of the girls didn’t want to come back because they didn’t want to leave their babies behind. And so they just brought you know 30 of them. And then they brought one or two of them in trickles later. And so, what I am saying is the CIA trying to tell us that they went to Sambisa Forest, they captured, or they gathered all the Chibok girls and they saw, yeah, we are here to carry people back home.
And so they say, ah! no ooo. I can’t leave my baby behind ooo… So, I’m not coming. And then he says, okay, all right. Since you’re not coming, all right. We’re only going to carry 30 of you. The 30 of you come let’s go. Does that make sense? That doesn’t make sense in any world because the CIA cannot do that to its own American citizens, because they understand the concept of Stockholm syndrome, which is that somebody who has been in captivity for so long would have now developed a mental condition of empathizing with their captors as a coping mechanism, they’re not thinking straight. So,you will rescue them and bring them out to a normal environment where they now normalize and can think and function properly for themselves These girls who are taken as teenagers and have been subject to abuse, you mean that they were in a right-thinking state atthat point?
That, that is totally not feasible. It makes no sense.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Barrister Ogebe, can you wade into, can you wade into this for me? I’d like you to, you know, share your thoughts on this very critical issue. It’s been a very sort of huge debate. The issue of amnesty for those who perpetrated these crimes against children like this, And the impact it will have on the victims, like you said, Amina’s mother, still having faith in the Nigerian government. How will this affect those who have been adversely affected by these kidnappings, where the children have been taken away from them? And the government now giving amnesty to over 200 repentants, as it says, Boko Haram terrorists.
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: You see what we have in Nigeria is not amnesty. We have impunity and any system where there’s impunity is not a system where anybody can do and undo without consequence.
There is no rule of law. That is not a civilization. The wives of Boko Haram terrorists, they are living on where they are kept. Is more luxurious than the IDP camps of They operated dollars and euros, whereas in IDP camps, the women have to perform sex acts just to get basic amenities from camp officials. These are all documented things that are going on. In fact, women in IDP camps were so deprived that they went out in search of what to eat, and hundreds of them were abducted. On the first week of March by Boko Haram. So, what has happened in Nigeria is that aggressors have been so pampered and victims have been so deprived that it is now what we’re teaching our city.
A distorted value system that it is better to be an aggressor than to be a victim that it is a crime and it is an honor to be an aggressor. So, I was very sad when I saw that one of the terrorists who abducted the Chibok girls was given a light prison sentence. And I said to myself, what kind of justice is this?
The girls are not back. And yet this man has been given a sentence. He will serve and he might even be released early under amnestyand he will go and the parents are still there. They will never see this, their daughters. And this one has gone Scot free. And that is not justice. You cannot create a society based on such a distorted value system.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): I’d like to ask you two questions in one here, sir. Do you think that religion has played a critical role in what has happened here? And you think that this was part of the grand plan talking about removing president. Goodluck Jonathan, from power. Do you think this was, you know, politically motivated at the beginning?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe: I mean, you know, religion has always been a factor. There’s no two ways about it. You can imagine that when Jonathan lost power, [00:45:00] there’s a phone recording of how Shetima, who presided over the state of Borno when the abductions occurred, despite the warnings that were given him by Jonathan’s administration, was congratulating and celebrating the fact that the president of his own party had been defeated by the opposition. It is there and it is known. So,these factors are all part of the reality of what is going on in northern Nigeria, you see, and it cannot be discounted, you know. So anyway, that’s the short answer to that. It has always been there. I don’t know when we will come out of it.
And let’s on forget that I won’t even go into that, but let me add another reason why from the 10 reasons why I said the CIA did not, rescue the Chibok girls. Reason number one was that CIA report in that book said that the book, the school was a Christian boarding school. You and I know that it was not a Christian boarding school.It was a government girls’ secondary school.
How could the CIA be so daft? as to call a government girls secondary school a Christian boarding school. That’s not possible. That tells you that they just manufactured a story to give themselves, you know, what the Nigerians called clout. That’s not true. It didn’t happen.
Another reason
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Our time is going, let’s talk about advocacy. How do we prevent this from happening again? How do we stop this? How do we bring this to the world to see what is happening here to prevent? Apparently, it doesn’t seem like the stop gaps that have been put in place like the safe school initiative are being implemented.
So, how do we bring this to a stop? You have alluded to religious tilts in this matter, especially citing the recent kidnap of over 200 school girls, I think on the 7th of March abducted from the northwestern town of Kuriga in Chikun local government area, and you said because they were predominantly Muslim, all those girls were, some were returned.
Now, how do we stop this and see that things are dealt with on a level playing field?
Barrrister Emmanuel Ogebe: Well, you know, to be frank you see, we have to reverse the incentive structure of kidnapping for so long as we incentivize kidnapping and we do not provide consequences for kidnapping. It will flourish in our society. There’s a reason why the U S does not negotiate with terrorists when it comes to kidnapping, because it then becomes a cottage industry, which is what has happened in Nigeria.
Everybody now wants to be a kidnapper. That’s why, you know, the Fulani’s have found out that it is more profitable to kidnap an infidel than to follow cows in the bush. So, this is a better business model for them. So, we have to implement our laws and make it unprofitable and unsustainable to kidnap.
We have to fortify our schools. We have to as far as possible, you know, end the boarding school system as far as possible. There’s no need to create soft targets of our children. The era when we needed boarding schools is over. It was in the olden days when schools were far and in between. Now, schools are all over the place. We do not need to put our children in harm’s way. So, these are some of the few things that need to be done.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Alright. I’d like us to take a soundbite from one of our security analysts who’s also in the United States. I think Texas to be precise. He did make some submissions on this issue. But I want to take from Dr Roy. And hear his thoughts before we come back and round it off.
Dr Roy (Security expert): 10 years after the Chibok kidnapping, almost a hundred still missing. What have we learned? We have not learned anything. One of the reasons why we have not learned anything is that the security architecture, which we always use as a big word, you know, it connotes a change in office and the office holders are recruited by the t hen persons in power.
So definitely everybody recruits those that will be loyal and pay allegiance to them. So, who will you serve, if not your master that brought you into office and you gather all your boys under you, so, the IG will only serve the person that is in power, the chief of army staff, chief of defense, all the service chiefs, the NSA, the honorable minister of defense, they are all brought into power not by the culture of the organization they belong to like the army where I come from. It has a culture, you know, it’s a succession plan. The Navy, the Air Force, the police, they all have succession plans by their instigated authority. But I mean, the politicians took over and once you come, you dump everything, you follow the script of the current government, you know, and that is where we are.
We can trace people. We can trace data. We can, sorry, but we can’t apply the results of our intelligence gathering and intelligence job. We have great police officers. We have great intelligence here. We have great military officers, but they are cut short by the government of the day.
Henry Williams (LN Presenter): Well, there you have it Dr Roy sharing his thoughts. As we go Barrister Ogebe, what would you want to leave with our viewers right now, as we mark 10 years from the Chibok school girl kidnapping?
Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe:Well, I would certainly want to ask the new administration to redouble efforts, to make a commitment to recover these girls.
At least, you know, Senator Remi said that a girl was recovered under the administration, and I hope that they will make an effort to recover more. The fact that they got back some students in Kaduna is a good sign. But I also want to use the opportunity to throw a challenge to the Nigerian government.
I want them to show the money that they spent on the girls in America, the dollars they spent from the Nigerian economy. I will show the dollars that I spent. From the US economy. Let them show Nigerians the dollars they spend from the Nigerian economy on those girls I asked them to publicly show it.
Let us, let’s compare receipts let Nigeria see the millions of dollars they spent and let them show what I spent. Thank you!
Henry Williams (LN Presenter):Thank you Barrister for sharing your thoughts. It’s been great having you. Look forward to more experiences with you on these issues. Well, that’s where we will draw the curtain.
As we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chibok school mass kidnapping, we must reaffirm our commitment to justice. accountability and solidarity with the victims and their families. Now, while progress has been made, much work remains to be done to ensure that such atrocities are never repeated.
Like my guests have said, it is imperative. The Nigerian government in collaboration with its partners redoubles its effort to combat terrorism. Promote peace and reconciliation and address the root causes of conflict and insecurity. Only then can we honor the memory of the Chibok of girls and build more secure and prosperous future for all Nigerians. And as I always say, only Nigerians can build Nigeria.
Well, thank you for staying with us on today’s edition of the program. My name is Henry Williams. The conversation continues on all our platforms, including X, YouTube, Facebook, and what have you. Thanks for staying with us and see you same time on this station.
Bye for now. Stay up to date with LN 24/7. LN 24/7. With news, politics, business, sports and more on LN 24 7. Where the story goes, we go.
Broadcast on April 11, 2024
