Written By Karen Attiah
I have remained quiet about Nigeria’s continuing efforts
to find the girls kidnapped in April from the northern town of Chibok, because,
honestly, I hoped the world would ignore it as just another “African tragedy.”
But the attention brought by #BringBackOurGirls forced my administration to abandon
its usual do-nothing strategy. I admit that for weeks, the Nigerian military
was nowhere to be seen in Chibok and aggrieved parents had to resort to
venturing into the jungle on foot to search for their children. But I assure
everyone, we are doing our best.
I am speaking out now because national elections are in
less than a year and my Washington PR firm needs to earn the
reported $1.2 million I am paying it to reverse the criticism that has overshadowed
all my good intentions.
assure
Nigerians and the international community that, even though my military
officially wrapped up its investigation into the kidnappings,
without locating the girls, we are sparing no resources. We will keep the
findings of the investigations secret, since my good-faith assurances are
enough.
My heart aches for the missing children and their
families. In fact, my heartache was so painful that I canceled plans
to visit Chibok. Instead, I eased my pain by flying to Paris for a
national security summit. My
first lady, Patience Jonathan, shares in my grief for the families affected by
the tragedy. She was so troubled by the agitation of protesters demanding their
girls back that she told them to stop their actions and allegedly ordered the
police to detain several protest leaders.
While terrorism knows no borders, and security threats rage on across West
Africa, Nigeria has long
been reluctant to
accept counterterrorism assistance from the United States and other partners.
Nothing is more important than stopping the machinations of Boko Haram, except
maybe my desire to keep up appearances and show the international community
that Nigeria was winning the war against the group. I know that I have
characterized Boko Haram as a temporary scourge, but in the wake of
the latest attacks and kidnappings of more women just this week, I
recognize that it has effectively exploited the inability of the Nigerian
military to put up any semblance of a sustained coordinated response. But in
spite of all the challenges, we are definitely doing our best.
Despite Nigeria’s status as a regional powerhouse with a
population of 168 million, until now it had not occurred to me to
collaborate with neighboring countries to fight terrorism. I wish to thank
French President François Hollande for inviting me and other West African presidents to Paris to discuss this. When it comes to
strategizing on African solutions to African problems, a European should take
the lead. Besides, I do my best thinking in Paris.
My critics say that decades of neglect have led to
conditions amenable to radicalization in the north. My detractors will point
also to human rights abuses perpetrated by the military. Let the
finger-pointing stop. I am sparing no resources. I propose to set up an
international summit to organize a fact-finding commission of investigative
inquiry to study the progress of ongoing investigations of corruption and lack
of development in the north. I have again asked President Hollande to provide a
forum for this in Paris, though I would accept the French Riviera.
Something positive can come out of the kidnappings more
than 70 days ago. The world has seen what can happen when terrorism is left to
run amok and the citizens of a country have little faith in the ability of
their government to protect them. But I wish to assure Nigerians and the rest
of the world that I am doing my best.
Karen Attiah works in The Post’s Editorial department
Source: The Washington Post
Update: Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati has reacted to this 'mockery' Click here to read it
Update: Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati has reacted to this 'mockery' Click here to read it
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