In appreciation of the task of freeing the abducted Chibok girls from the deadly Boko Haram insurgents, Nigeria’s President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari has written an opinion article for the New York Times in which he promised that his administration will stop Boko Haram.
Buhari, while offering a damning criticism of the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan over its inability to act decisively on the matter of the abducted school girls, said it would be improper for him to promise the rescue of the girls, since he does not even know ether they are still alife.
Almost going back to the c bile- filled campaign rhetorics, he wrote: .
“When Boko Haram attacked a school in the town of Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria, kidnapping more than 200 girls, on the night of April 14, 2014, the people of my country were aghast. Across the world, millions of people joined them in asking: How was it possible for this terrorist group to act with such impunity? It took nearly two weeks before the government even commented on the crime.
“This lack of reaction was symptomatic of why the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was swept aside last month — the first time an incumbent president has been successfully voted out of office in the history of our nation. For too long they ruled, not governed, and in doing so had become so focused on their own self-interest and embroiled in corruption that the duty to react to the anguish suffered by their citizens had become alien to them.”
According to him, his administration will act differently. The largely taciturn general appears freer with his pen. Buhari said that from “the first day of my administration, Boko Haram will know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas.”
Read full text of the article in our Opinion column
