Resign, if you cannot rescue our daughters, Chibok parents tell Buhari

Parents of abducted Chibok girls have advised President Muhammadu Buhari to resign his office as President of Nigeria if he cannot rescue their daughters who were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents since April 2014.

The parents, who were protesting the continued captivity of their girls and seeming inaction of the Buhari administration in rescuing them, marched for the second time to the Presidential Villa in 72 hours in the company of the advocacy group, #BringBackOurGirls, #BBOG on Thursday.

They were however barred from entering the villa.

It would be recalled that this is the second time in less than a week that Chibok parents will be coming hard on the president, as they had earlier expressed disappointment with the president, alleging that they were deceived into voting for him in the 2015 presidential election.

According to a representative of the parents, Rev. Enoch Mark, the Federal Government is not doing enough to rescue the girls, insisting that the government should negotiate for their release.

Read also: Only these 6 things will guarantee peace, Niger Delta monarchs tell FG

The cleric, whose two daughters were kidnapped in the attack on Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, disclosed that he suffered a stroke because of the abduction of his girls. He came to the protest in crutches.

Mark said: “We cast our votes for Buhari because he promised to rescue our girls. Now, the parents are asking you, Mr. President, to meet the insurgents and make a decision.

“Either use the military force or go for negotiation; some countries are ready to give you a helping hand. What are you waiting for? Are you not interested in bringing back our girls?

“We have intelligence agencies in Nigeria; there is nothing in this country that they don’t know. Why didn’t you give them orders to bring back our girls?

“Are you not a General? You know what is happening and you know where our daughters are. Buhari, if you feel that you are incapable of rescuing the girls, step down now and give it (power) to someone else. We have many intelligent persons in the country who can handle this situation. You cannot tell us that you don’t know where the girls are.”

Mark, who asked the president how he would feel if his daughters were among the Chibok girls, said he had not been able to sleep for two months now.

“You are responsible for the rescue of these girls. You are responsible for my daughters’ safety”, he said.

Making reference to the visit of the parents to the president in January, he said Buhari did not empathise with them, alleging that they were intimidated

By Timothy Enietan-Matthews

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now