Sharibu And The Morality Of President Buhari’s 2019 Ambition

By Nosa Omorodion
The abduction of the one hundred and eleven Dapchi School girls in Yobe State on February 19, 2017 and their release by Boko Haram terrorists remains a badly resolved drama.
This is because, whereas one hundred and eleven (111) schoolgirls were kidnaped, one hundred and five (105) were freed, five (5) were reported dead and one, the only Christian in their midst is still in captivity.
The inability of the federal government to secure the release of the that girl, Leah Sharibu, who is reported to have been held back by the Islamic terrorists for refusing to renounce her Christian faith, leaves much to be desired.
The circumstance of Leah Sharibu’s continued captivity as a prisoner of faith and the federal government’s abandonment of her, questions the administration’s commitment to guaranteeing the unconditional security and freedom of every Nigerian citizen.
To say that Nigerians were shocked that such a scandalous abduction could still happen under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, after the episode of the Chibok girls under President Jonathan, four years ago, is an understatement. The shock was predicated on the fact that the federal government had publicly claimed that the Boko Haram sect had been driven out of Nigeria and lacked the ability to organize and attack communities as brazenly as they did during the immediate past administration.
The ease with which the Boko Haram abductors operated in Dapchi and got away, after spending hours in the community without being accosted by the army and the police, has remained controversial. It is a major reason for the popular opinion that there may have been some sort of collusion between the terrorists and security agents.
This opinion is predicated on the report that troops stationed within the precincts of Dapchi had been withdrawn few hours before the terrorists arrived to herd the girls away unchallenged.
Interestingly, the government that had failed abysmally to prevent the abduction of the girls, nevertheless negotiated their release in record time. The quick release of the girls from Boko Haram that have continued to hold on to more than a hundred of the Chibok girls captured on April 14, 2014, raises suspicions about the Dapchi operation.
A school of thought is of the opinion that the Dapchi kidnap was stage-managed for political reasons and to sway public opinion that the present government is better equipped to handling the security challenges especially against the backdrop of the Jonathan administration’s slow and protracted handling of the 2014 Chibok girls’ kidnap.
To give credence to the assumed efficiency of the Buhari administration, the agents of the government and its political supporters indeed made a big issue of the relatively quick release of the Dapchi girls in the media, even though it was not a result of any rescue operation by the Nigerian military forces.
Nigerian troops have on the contrary continued to suffer heavy casualty in the hands of Boko Haram, despite the government’s claim of repositioning the military for better performance. The federal government is reported to have negotiated the release of the girls by paying a huge ransom to Boko Haram. This report was recently confirmed by a United Nation’s Security Council report.
Regardless of how the federal government secured the release of the Dapchi girls, Nigerians however greeted their freedom from the hands of the ruthless Boko Haram that has ravaged North Eastern Nigeria, with joy.
There is the unanimity of opinion that no price is too much to pay for the release of any Nigerian from the captivity of the bestial Boko Haram.
For this reason, the abandonment of Leah Sharibu in the hands of her captors makes the successful release of the other Dapchi girls anticlimactic, questionable and wicked.
It remains a puzzle that the federal government has not been able to broker a deal with the same Boko Haram Sect for the release of the Christian Leah Sharibu as it did for the other Dapchi girls who were mostly Muslims.
It is no longer news that some of the captured Muslim girls said that the Boko Haram terrorists had been quite apologetic to them saying that they had made a mistake by their capture. They also said that Leah Sharibu was not released because of her unwillingness to renounce her Christianity as demanded by the Boko Haram.
The seeming indifference of the Buhari administration to effecting the release of Leah Sharibu, has been fueling fears within Christian circles that the administration is actually committed to patronizing Jihadist tendencies, even if it cannot be categorically accused of supporting the methods adopted by the Boko Haram, and lately the militant Fulani herdsmen.
Nevertheless, it is incumbent on the government to answer all the questions that the continued detention of Leah Sharibu has left hanging rather than making endless promises that Leah Sharibu will soon be released. The government must either see to her prompt release or permit the opinion that it has resolved to let her pay the price for her freedom, which is renouncing her Christian faith.
Insignificant as the Leah Sharibu imbroglio may seem to the supporters of this administration, it is however an issue that puts into perspective, the commitment of the Buhari administration to the security and freedom of every Nigerian, irrespective of individual religious persuasion or inclination. It is the duty of government to ensure that no Nigerian suffers because of the religion he or she decides to practice.
It is the duty of government to protect every Nigerian against the attempt by any other person or persons to force their religion on them. It is the duty of government not to be biased or seen to be biased in guaranteeing the freedom of any Nigerian because of religious leaning. And ultimately it is the duty of government not to relax until the freedom of every Nigerian child, particularly the girl child, in the captivity of Boko Haram, is secured. Without discharging his responsibility to secure the release of Leah Sharibu, the ambition of President Muhammadu Buhari in seeking for reelection calls for questioning.
There already exists, however, out there on the streets, a referendum of some sorts among Nigerians, that this government has literally failed on its election promise of securing the lives and property of Nigerians.
The Leah Sharibu case, in a critical way, exposes the administration’s unresponsiveness and irresponsibility towards reining in the unprecedented wave of insecurity that has bludgeoned the country since 2015.
Going forward in setting an agenda for the 2019 presidential election, one big question President Buhari and his party the APC need to answer is, with the disappointing failure to fulfill their 2015 electioneering promises of a buoyant economy, a corruption free polity and a secured Nigeria, does the President still have the moral right to seek re-election in 2019?
Again, does the obvious abandonment of Leah Sharibu in avoidable captivity not rubbish President Buhari’s credentials to govern? Indeed, these questions should interrogate our conscience and our votes as we take the next big step, which comes once in four years, to choose a truly Nigerian president unhindered by sectional and religious sentiments who has the capacity to deliver on his promises and ensure a secured, prosperous and united Nigeria.

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Kadiri Christopher

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