Incessant Abduction Of Female Students: Time For Action

News of abduction of
innocent school girls have become a recurrent decimal in Nigeria and worst still in Borno State.
Ordinarily, one would have expected that having happened for a consecutive two times within a very short interval and within same locality, measures would have been put in place to forestall any recurrence.
Unfortunately, it is still the same old tune of the masters, our usual fire brigade approach, that is not even with exception to sensitive issues as life.
Borno State now serves as heaven of sort for men of the underworld to carry out their evil antics after all, “we are on top of the situation” and “we are winning  the terrorism war” even with our whole body almost entirely dismembered.
Kudos! the Defence Headquarters said last Wednesday, that only eight of the 129 students abducted by the Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State were still missing, meaning the rest have been released from their abductors. Otherwise, all the calls by Labour, Republic of China, the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), the first Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan to security operatives for urgent action would have still been considered one of those old songs of distraction.
All the same, with President Goodluck Jonathan’s summon of members of the National Security Council to a meeting at the Presidential Villa on the development  in the country which will be followed by an enlarged meeting still on security developments in the country. With  the State governors, one hopes it does not turn out the same old songs we are used to.
After the meetings and resolutions taken, how these resolutions applied, what happened to the resolutions of previous meetings after previous attacks? remains the concern of many.
Before now attention was on business moguls and relatives of politicians from whom they get some ransome now, who pays for the school  girls whose sponsors may not be known? Is their intention still to make money out of the business?
This act of extremism as a means to an end has left so much to be desired.
Earlier in the week, the BBC have quoted parents to have told its Hausa Service that at least 200 girls were abducted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at the Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, following a violent attack in the town.
The local news had it that no fewer than 100 girls were abducted at the same school by the same sect.
In spite of the discrepancy in the two reports, one fact that is not in contention is that scores of young female students were abducted by the suspected Boko Haram insurgents at a Senior Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State the third of its kind in same state.
Barely a month ago, the second version of this abduction of female students was recorded in the same state of Borno, involoving over 70 school girls, a situation that took women and mothers to the streets on black, in protest against what they described as an heinous act that must be condemned intoto.
According to a report by PM News on Thursday, February 13, 2014, the Boko Haram gunmen invaded the village of Konduga in Borno on Tuesday evening February 11, 2014, killing over 40 people and abducting 20 females.
“Gunmen from Islamic sect, Boko Haram are certainly not waiting for the reward of Martyrdom  in heaven: the reward of 72 virgins by their creator, they are claiming the reward right here in Nigeria.” (PM News).
It would be recalled that in their attack on Konduga, Borno State, on Tuesday February 11, 2014, the menacing armed men did not just kill between 43 and 51 people, they also abducted 20 young girls from a local school, which the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, described not only as barbaric, but unfortunate.
Fejiro Oliver, a writer says it is not clear why they were abducted but that a source familiar with the actions of the group has revealed that they may have been kidnapped as sex toys for the terrorists.
“You know most of the Secondary School girls in the north are virgins and Boko Haram need  virgins to sleep with to quench their sex hunger,” the source said.
For whatever reasons that could be adduced for the perpetration of this dastardly act, it is a slight on the dignity of womanhood and lack of respect for the sanctity of life.
Can any sane mind justify any of the duo: ritual and sex toy purposes for the abduction of these innocent young minds?
Intermitently, schools especially in the north east zone of Nigeria are being closed down due to the activities of the evil men. Even when these schools are not officially closed down, it is not possible that students of these affected schools could be at ease to attend classes in their school in the face of all the dangers and risk? Even where the males summon courage to go to classes perhaps with the understanding that they are not the target, what becomes of the females?
What then is the hope for our children’s edcuation, life and future?
It is quite worrisome that the number of victims keeps increasing with each subsequent attack. From 20 girls in the February 11th attack, to 70 girls in the March 2nd attack and now over 100 girls in the April 15th attack. Who knows what the rate would be in the next attack should there be no obvious intervention by the government.
Much as the Boko Haram members are being suspected for every terrorist attack in Nigeria, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that “armed robbers and other criminals are fast abandoning their trades for the more lucrative business of kidnapping. Behind the abduction gangs springing up across the country are young smart and intelligent university graduates who are being lured into crime by growing unemployment.” (Olaolu Olusina and Anayo Okolie).
Criminals and men of the underworld are surely beating the law enforcement and security officers to the game by changing their tactics. The criminals, no doubt, are putting their guns to use for another business considered “less cumbersome but more rewarding”.
At a summit held in Lagos two years ago, the Regional Vice President, Africa American Society for Industrial Security, Mr Dennis Amachree, disclosed that, of the top 10 countries with high kidnapping records in 2007, Nigeria occupied the 6th position. But Nigeria ever since, has moved up to the third position, behind Mexico and Columbia.
Nigeria could remain in any position it so wishes in crime, the question in everyone’s lip is, will the security agents ever be on top of this ugly monster as always claimed?
It is so unfortunate that in the face of obvious and devastating consequences, the  federal and state governments have still not proven to the citizenry that there is any form of counter-check especially in Bornu State, even when the constitution is so glaring on matters of security and welfare of the people as the primary purpose of government.

Women protesting against the activities of evil men in Port Harcourt, Rivers State recently.

Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi