The first tragedy is the kidnapping of some people. I have purposely used the word “people” as opposed to “girls” which is the word I and most other people have used hitherto. I have also used “some” instead of a number as I and other people have done previously. Why have I become less specific as events have unfolded? One would think that as we have more information that we would become more focused. Alas the opposite is the case which gives rise to my statement that Chibok is a tragedy in more ways than one.
Tragedy 1 is that we are missing some of our children because some lunatics want/ed to make a point. If we get through this in one piece, any other lunatic in the future would know to stay out of our schools and out of our children.
Tragedy 2 is who was/were kidnapped? Girls? Boys? Girls and boys? We do not know. We started off with the assumption that Chibok is a girls’ school and that girls were kidnapped from their dormitories. So we “knew” they were girls as we did not imagine that any boys would be in a girls’ school dormitories. Now we hear that the school was/is no longer an all girls’ school. So could boys have been kidnapped? Nobody is telling us. Not even the principal? The focus of this investigation should start with the principal i.e. Mrs. Asabe Kwabura. Who is she? What does she know? And when did she know it? Is she with us or against us?
Tragedy 3 is how many victims are we talking about? I have asked this question more than three times in the past. Why is it so difficult to establish this number correct to the 9th decimal point? If they are all Chibok students the principal should be able to provide the exact number in less than five minutes. Once more is she the school principal or the Boko Haram principal coordinator? If they are students from other schools who were in Chibok to take exams, the principal should tell us how many students registered to sit for the exam in her school and how many desks were set up for them. Once more this answer should not take more than five minutes. WHO IS MRS ASSABE KWABURA?
Tragedy 4 is our society’s take on responsibilities. This could be the biggest tragedy of all. From President Jonathan to the principal, to the parents of these kids, to our internet warriors and every Nigerian, the society performed at “F”, as in failure, level. I have been out of grading exercises for decades so I will let Asagwara, Aluko and other teachers award the grades. When I wrote that the parents should grab the principal and ask her to account for the girls under her custody, I was told I was playing politics. It is the anger of the parents that eventually brought the world to our shores. They should have done that the first day. When I begged (yes, begged) Wane Mustapha, after Jos massacres, to condemn the evil, even if on both sides, he wrote that the Igbo had it coming to them. Our society should know when to hold them and when to fold them.
There are many, many more tragedies but sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
If there is any silver lining out of this, it is that for the first time the country seems to be of one mind. I have not heard any musings from Chukwuemeka Eze or other APC spokesmen/women. Even the super engineer in our mist, Mr. Jiang seems to have gotten religion. For once Nigerians have come to see Boko Haram for the evil and threat that it has become.
I am sure that the next security meeting to be called by Mr. Jonathan would have all governors there. Even those who sent their deputies previously (they did not think it was important enough for them to be there) would show up.
The other silver lining is that when we get rid of the worm called BH the environment for economic and even political development would have been created. Then political competitions would make sense with the goal of improving the country not just to be the thief in chief.
I am optimistic.
Written By Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba
