Nigeria is again in the global spotlight, and as expected its nothing positive. Boko Haram has continued to control the narrative, the government is scampering for cover.
Boko Haram has perfected its signature of school girls kidnapping which gains global notoriety in 2014 in Chibok, Borno State when 276 schoolgirls were abducted, till date about 100 is still unaccounted for. It took the outcry from afar before the government accepted that the incident occurred. We are told it will never happen again and bombarded with countless accomplishments of the military against the insurgent group. Many times, the rumour of the death of its leader in the hands of the Nigerian military permeated the media space only to turn out to be false.
Boko Haram has done it again! It has kidnapped 110 schoolgirls from Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State. Just as in 2014, the government started with denial of the incident. Suddenly, we are inundated with the story of a successful rescue of the girls. Trust Nigerians to ask questions and that we did only for the government to volte-face. The purported rescue of the girls turned out to be a mirage. After 5 days that the incident occurred, the government finally admitted that 110 schoolgirls are missing. Can you beat that?
Information management is the collection and management of information from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in, or a right to that information. Management means the organization of and control over the structure, processing and delivery of information. This definition does not stand with the Nigerian government. To them, information management is the process of hoodwinking the citizenry. Its a way of spreading propaganda, enumerating and cataloguing phantom achievements of the government. Simply put, information management is how to lie to the people. Successive governments have been lying to us, but the present administration has the cake. Believe what Nigerian government tells you, and you will believe anything.
While the parents of the missing schoolgirls are grieving and the entire Dapchi and the nation is in confusion, the governor of the state was far away in Abuja doing what no one knows. He didn’t return until the fourth day after the incident. It was no surprise that the people stoned him. President Muhammadu Buhari was too busy in Abuja fighting the rats in his office at the Presidential Villa. He couldn’t extricate himself from this very important war on rodents to visit Dapchi to express his solidarity and empathy with the people, rather he sent 3 ministers who appeared ill-prepared and clueless. If democracy is truly the government of the people, by the people and for the people, can we, in all honesty, say this administration is the for the people? For us?
President Buhari seems to be unconcerned about the plight of the people. The country is much worse off under his watch. The much-touted war on Boko Haram with huge investment has yielded no result. The reported victory of the military against the terrorist group remains a paper tiger. Boko Haram is still very much strong.
The justification for the redeployment of the troops from Dapchi is at best feeble. According to the Deputy Director of Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, the troops in Dapchi were redeployed to reinforce troops at Kanama following attacks on troops’ location at the Nigerian – Nigerien border. Is this a wise decision? The entire north-east is still very much a playing field of Boko Haram and schools with young girls a prime target. This redeployment from Dapchi is more or less an invitation for Boko Haram to strike. Why redeploy specifically from Dapchi?
President’s hosting of the University Maiduguri lecturers and police officers’ wives released by Boko Haram yesterday is somewhat insensitive to the situation in Dapchi. Perhaps, those saddled with the management of the president’s image are of the opinion that hosting those released by Boko Haram will dampen the negative media generated by the abduction in Dapchi. Mr. President, nothing you do can suppress the catastrophy happening under your watch. No amount of image laundering will do you any good. Even your avowed anti-corruption crusade is been rubbished internationally. You cannot surround yourself with thieves and tell us you are a saint.
Its unbecoming of the present administration to always blame the past governments for everything happening in the country while forgetting that it was voted in to remedify the mistakes of the past. Enough of this excuses and lies, this government should start being responsible. The abduction in Dapchi cannot be subjected to hypocritical finger pointing to past governments, it is one of the many unpalatable legacies of the President Buhari’s administration.
Where is our satellite? Why are we not using it to monitor the movement of Boko Haram? The imagery from our satellite can easily pinpoint the location of Boko Haram and the kidnapped girls. The government should stop concocting excuses and lies, go to work and do the needful to ensure the security of lives and properties in the country. Boko Haram is bombing and kidnapping, herdsmen marauding, power is epileptic, aircraft are being robbed while taxiing, road accident is frequent, healthcare and medical facilities are in ground zero, many are dying in the Mediterranean sea on a perilous journey for a better life in Europe, things are falling apart all over the country and Abuja is lost in a culdesac, clueless and looking with mouth agape.
Boko Haram, weaken but far from being annihilated, Buhari and his people including the security agencies must stop playing with the people’s live. Enough of this nonsense.
