Have We Forgotten Leah Sharibu?
The New Year is almost here with us. And as Nigerians try to survive the harrowing ordeal which living in their country has become and remain painfully stuck with a regime that neither offers them any hope nor guarantees their freedom; as they count the days in the hope that the months and years would run faster to end their nightmare, they should try and muster the strength to remember that a 15-year old innocent girl called Leah Sharibu remains a hapless captive of Boko Haram, obviously, under the most dehumanising conditions.
Given what has reportedly been the horrible experience of young, beautiful girls like her who had had the misfortune of being captured by these terrorists, one is scared to imagine what Leah might have been subjected to for nearly two years now. Most painful is that she hardly gets mentioned again these days by those whose job it is to rescue and bring her home!
Has Nigeria forgotten her? Has President Buhari forgotten her? Has he given up hope of bringing her home to her heartbroken parents? What happened to the president’s promise to rescue her quickly? Or even his firm pledge during the campaigns for his first term that he would end the Boko Haram menace in six months and ensure freedom of all their captives?
Leah was among the 110 students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, abducted by Boko Haram terrorists on February 19, 2018. She was only 14. When in March news broke that the terrorists had brought back the girls with the same fanfare they had taken them away like kids going on an excursion, Leah’s parents rejoiced like the other parents, and rushed down to embrace their beloved child and take her home.
But on discovering that her child was not released with her classmates, Leah’s mother, Rebecca Sharibu, fainted. The shock was too much for her.
Leah’s equally traumatized father, Nathaniel Sharibu, could only plead that serious effort should be deployed to bring his daughter back. It is nearly two years now.
On Saturday, June 23, 2018, a young football team in Thailand, made up of 12 boys between the ages of 11 and 16, went missing with their coach in a Northern Thailand cave. The world stood in awe as their country went all out to trace and bring them home. Nobody bothered to ask why they embarked on such an adventure. That was no longer necessary. The most important thing was their safety. The whole country and their leaders united in their resolve to rescue the boys and gave themselves no rest until they were found and brought back to safety. The dedication and concern of the Thai leaders aroused the sympathy of the world which moved in to help.
In saner countries, the worsening insecurity in the land and the fact that many of our citizens were either in captivity or brutally displaced were enough reasons for President Buhari to excuse himself from a second term contest. When will Leah and the other Chibok girls still in captivity be free?
–– Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, scruples2006@ yahoo. com.