Connect with us

National Issues

#BringBackOurGirls Campaign: President Jonathan Is “Still” Missing The Point.

Published

on

BringBackOurGirls Campaign President Jonathan Is Still Missing The Point

#BringBackOurGirls Campaign: President Jonathan Is "Still" Missing The Point
The drama that played out in Abuja, Nigeria yesterday was so pathetic and shameful to the point that one would contemplate the renouncement of his citizenship. What we saw yesterday, was a President that wasn’t just misguided, but on his own personal account, misguiding and misrepresenting himself and the office he’s occupying.

Yes as the president of the federation, you have the full power to invite, summon, compel or whatever word you want to use, anybody or group. Yes as the president you have the constitutional right by virtue of your office to “demand” to speak to anyone or group of persons on a national matter. Yes the president may have the right or rather power on self volition, to refuse to attend an event or visit anyone or group. But the question is, regarding the security challenges in the country today, regarding the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls that have lasted for more than three(3) months now, regarding the fact that some section of the country under your purview suffer terrorist attack every now and then, regarding the fact that the people you took an oath to guide and protect are being blown apart every now and then, is it right for you as THE PRESIDENT, to REFUSE them your empathy?

My interest lies not on the hovering issues that Mr President’s URGE to see the parents of the abducted Chibok Girls rose beyond threshold after Malala Yousufzai’s meeting with him, i am also not interested on the lingering assertions that his move was borne out of wanting to “hold up” to his own end of the deal…my concern, Nigerians concern is that these girls lives is at stake, they have slept long enough in the forest and they need to be brought back home.

President Jonathan started missing the point the very moment he saw the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy campaign as a political contraption to bring him down. Categorically speaking, seeing a few “UNREADIED” parents of the Chibok Girls that came to Abuja on their own accord, won’t send any message. The community, the Chibok Community need to know by feeling, that there’s a President who cares for them, who’s still fighting to safely get their children back…they need to have that hope and the best way to send such a message is to pay them a proper visit or, issue a PRESIDENTIAL INVITATION requesting to see them. Better still, invite the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group and then iron out with them, the way out of the abyss that Nigeria has fallen into.

Advertisement

No one will disrespect President Jonathan or his office, but the earlier he stop throwing blames, and change his engagement methodologies, the faster these girls can be brought back to where they all belong.

God Bless Nigeria!

 

Advertisement

 

Jeff Okoroafor is a leading member of a new generation of civic advocates for government accountability and democratic change in Nigeria. The Citizen Affairs Initiative is a citizen-driven governance initiative that enhances public awareness on critical issues of service quality in Nigeria. It encourages citizens to proactively seek higher standards from governments and service providers and further establishes new discussions in communities about the standards that citizens should expect and deserve from those they have given their mandates. Jeff is the Managing Director of SetFron Limited, a multimedia development company that is focused on creative and results-driven web, mobile app, and ERP software solutions. He is the co-founder of the African Youths Advancement and Support Initiative (AfriYasi), a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarship for young people from low-income homes in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the United Nations World Summit Awards. A Strategic Team member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, and a member of the National Technical Committee on the Establishment and Management of Missing Persons Database in Nigeria. Jeff holds a Bachelor and Postgraduate diploma degrees in Computer Science, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Facebook

Trending Articles