Obasanjo ,Kolade ,Soyinka Flay Non-Rescue of Chibok Girls

Some of Nigeria’s elders statesmen have flayed the inability of Nigeria to rescue the abducted Chibok girsl.Former President Olusegun Obasanjo,Ambassador Christopher Kolade and Nobel Laureate ,Professor Wole Soyinka made this known when the Lagos and Ibadan families of the #BringBackOurGirls movement visited them.
Over 200 girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok 275 days ago by Boko Haram insurgents.Though some of the girls escaped, more than 200 girls are still in captivity.
Former President Obasanjo said “If there is a sad episode in the history of Nigeria, the abduction of the Chibok Girls is one of the gravest.”
“The reason why we must continue to sing this is because today it is Chibok, tomorrow it could be my village.”
According to Ambassador Kolade:“If Chibok Girls are in captivity, only someone with no imagination can be comfortable.”
“What haunts me every day is that anyone who has children or grandchildren (as I do now) has a natural desire to ensure that their future will be one they will enjoy.”
In his words,Professor Wole Soyinka said ,“We can never really have closure, because of the weight of guilt we should feel towards the Chibok Girls.”
“In this war the entire nation must be mobilised because we are facing enemies of humanity whose only mission is to destroy.”
“Remember that a white President mobilised the National Guard to escort one small black girl to school in a deeply racist United States. So why can’t we mobilise the Army to ensure that no educational institution in Nigeria is closed?”
These remarks were disclosed in a statement by the leaders of #BBOG on Wednesday .The statement signed by Obiageli Ezekwesili, BBOG Abuja,Ayo Obe, BBOG Lagos Betty Akeredolu, BBOG Ibadan said “The #BringBackOurGirls Abuja, Ibadan and Lagos families, yesterday embarked on advocacy visits to three elder statesmen in Nigeria, namely former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka and Ambassador Christopher Kolade.
“In three separate meetings held in Abeokuta and Lagos, the campaign received overwhelming support and endorsement for the role that it has played in placing the April 14/15 2014 abduction of ChibokGirls at the front of national discourse and keeping it there.
“The elder statesmen all expressed worry at the gravity of the situation in the country especially the insurgency in the North East, the abduction of children, damage to education, and the increasing numbers of Internally Displaced Nigerians.
“They provided wise counsel and welcome encouragement to the #BringBackOurGirls family on some important responsibilities central to and associated with the Chibok Girls in particular, and the insurgency in general.
Some of such counsel include that “ The campaign should and must be sustained, and that the #BringBackOurGirls family should continue to advocate for the rescue of all abducted persons in Nigeria;
“ The #BringBackOurGirls campaign should continue to mobilise and educate Nigerians, and to provide direct testimony on the impact of the insurgency in the North East;
“ The BringBackOurGirls should join with other concerned Nigerians to raise awareness and provide humanitarian support for the displaced communities of North Eastern Nigeria.
“Consequently, the elder statesmen agreed to be a consistent voice for the Chibok girls and for the communities of NorthEastern Nigeria which have been ravaged by the insurgency.
“They also agreed to be part of an initiative to mobilise Nigeria’s other elder statesmen in a non-partisan forum to proffer practical solutions and to be a collective voice of reason on issues of national importance, most especially on the insurgency and the rescue of the 219 Chibok girls.
“They also praised the role of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign as a “source of hope” for standing up on behalf of the vulnerable in our community and for exemplifying new norms of selflessness, sacrifice and spirit of nationalism. They emphasised that the #BringBackOurGirls campaign had provided a voice for millions of Nigerians – parents, youths, children and others – who had been unable to speak out or voice their concerns.
“For its part, #BringBackOurGirls campaign team committed itself to making similar advocacy visits to other elder statesmen and women in other regions of Nigeria ( South East, South South, North West, East and Central, in the coming days), and to sustain its campaign until a desired end is achieved.