THE CHIBOK GIRLS AND THE YOBE BOYS. I watched an interesting program this morning on Ebony TV about a pastor who went to Chibok following the aftermath of the abduction and the waste he saw there as well as the affected and agrieved members of that community and heard first hand the harrowing details of their ordeals and ongoing travails in the face of the Federal Governments lethargy. The program showed a lot of footage about the protests, worldwide support and condemnation of the atrocities wreaked by Boko Haram in relation to the abduction of the girls. One thing that kept revolving in my mind was a previous and possibly (to me) a much worse incident than the abduction of the girls. This was the wholesale slaughter of 40 boys at a boarding school in Yobe state, shortly before the abduction. These boys were hauled out of their bunk beds in the middle of the night marched out, lined up and shot at point blank range; each boy at the back of his head. I saw a footage of the dead boys on a documentary and I couldnt continue. My heart was pumping the adrenalin was racing, the tears were threatening and depression was sure to follow in consequence. So I did not watch. However I could not forget about it. Now these boys are all dead (and we hope that they are martyred as a result and will attain Aljannah By the Grace of Allah), while some of these abducted girls are still alive (and living one may shudder to think in a situation in which death may be preferable when you consider that they have become rape victims and some of them who have been found dis-virgined have been buried up to the neck and then stoned - cannot remember where I heard this - and their breasts have been squeezed till blood came out of the nipples - such horror stories!!). Anyway some of these girls that were not victims of the recent Kano bombings, are alive and it is true that the only way to pester this government into not forgetting their existence is to be a thorn in its flesh with constant protest reminders, and making as much noise as possible. However I believe that the Chibok girls should not be the only beneficiaries of these efforts. People should also think about the parents of those murdered boys who should become a symbol of all the other unnamed victims of BK atrocities. There has been so much sympathy and international exposure for the Chibok parents, why should not the same be extended to the parents of these publicly murdered boys? Whatever the parents of the Chibok girls are going through, the same applies to the parents of these boys without the added consolation of international public awareness or any financial compensation. Recently, the American University in Adamawa awarded scholarships to the Chibok girls who managed to escape the BK net. Why is not the same gesture being proffered to any sibling of the yobe boys? I believe the parents would love that despite everything, their remaining kids still get to have a chance at a good education. So please let us remember the Yobe school boys when ever we think about the Chibok girls. Let us when we raise a banner that cries BRING BACK OUR GIRLS!! include an addendum that reads AND REST IN PEACE YOBE BOYS!!
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 11:43:55 +0000
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