Seven years later, are the remaining Chibok girls just a part of statistics now?

It was exactly seven years on Wednesday when Boko Haram terrorists stormed Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Chibok on April 14, 2014, forced 276 girls into a truck and moved towards the Sambisa Forest.

This has led to anguish on the part of the parents of the yet-to-be-released 112 girls, who have stated repeatedly that they want to see their missing daughters before they die.

Information at the disposal of Ripples Nigeria suggests that since the abduction of the girls by Boko insurgents, some of the parents have died of natural causes, and others due to depression.

However, those still alive say they are optimistic their daughters are alive and have called on the federal government to rescue them.

After the escape of a few, and the release of over 100 through negotiations over time, most of the over 107 of the Chibok girls that have been reunited with their families are still struggling to be on their feet.

By April 14, 2016, two years after the mass abduction, the Chibok Parents Association had already lost 17 members, most of who died in circumstances related to depression after waiting without seeing their missing daughters or any tangible news about them.

Speaking with the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting corporation (BBC Hausa), on Tuesday, April 13, the Spokesperson for the Kibaku Area Development Association (Chibok Community), Dr Allen Manasseh, said that some of the parents of the remaining abducted girls have become sick due to restlessness and have subsequently died due to frustration.

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“It’s even better to be told that your daughter has been killed, that will make you cry and forget and won’t be thinking again, but in this case, no one is telling us anything. This is very frustrating,” Manasseh said.

“All the promises the government made to release the girls have not been fulfilled this creates a lot of worries to the parents” he added.

Dr Manasseh whose two cousins are among the remaining abducted girls told the BBC how he lost his aunt, mother of the girls, because of frustration.

“Although some few of my sister made the list of the 82 released girls, I still have two cousin sisters; my aunty’s children still in captivity, they are twins, one is called Rebecca, the other is called Sarah, they where all abducted 6 years ago and their mum (my aunt) died as a result of frustration. She was the first to die among parents of the abducted girls” Manasseh said.

He, therefore, appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to do more in its efforts to defeat Boko Haram and rescue their children.

Most critics have lost hope regarding the rescue of the remaining Chibok girls, with the Federal Government also exacerbating the situation with its silence.

The recent surge in banditry and abduction seem to have sapped the willpower and the ability of the FG to tackle this hydra-headed menace and there is the need to ensure proactiveness to redress this scourge.

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