27022020 - Insurgency: Depressed soldier shoots 7, kills self

24 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
Leah Sharibu:
Security expert
laments FG’s
failure to secure
release 2 years after
By Ebunoluwa Sessou
PRESIDENT, Association of
Industrial Security and Safety
Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona
Ekhomu has lamented failure on the
part of the Federal Government to
secure the release of Boko Haram
captive, Leah Sharibu after two years
of abduction.
Ekhomu in a phone interview
with WO said it is worrisome that
government has not been able to
define and understand the cause of
incessant insecurity in the country.
“The fact that the young girl is still
in the captivity of Boko Haram
against her wish tells us that this
insurgency has not gone away. In
fact, I am concerned that it is getting
a new life of its own.
“At this time, we don’t know the
state of her health and her mind.
There is also rumour that she is a
mother now. So, she has been
brutally raped and we are so helpless
in ensuring her rescue”, he lamented.
He said there is need to renew
efforts towards securing the release
of the girl out of captivity. “Luckily,
this girl is in the captivity of ISWAP,
which is not as bad as Shekau. So, I
think it is still possible to have a
negotiated reason for her even if we
cannot release her by force of arms”,
he explained.
According to him, “The problem
is conceptualization. The way the
problem is defined is wrong. We have
to understand what the problem is.
Because you have to understand that
Chapter B2 of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria says
that the security and welfare of all
Nigerians should be the
responsibility of the government.
“No Nigerian should be subjected
to killings, torture or any insecurity
of all sorts. Government should be
responsible in the area of security.
Borno state is the largest city in
Nigeria but it is wrong to feel that
•Leah Sharibu
Not for Sale: Nigeria’s answer to girl trafficking?
OPINION
Ondo female politician laments exclusion in 20 years of democracy
Dayo Johnson Akure
FEMALE politicians
in Ondo State have
lamented the exclusion of
women in democratic
positions in the state in the
last 20 years.
Chairman of the state
Universal Basic Education
Board, Princess Oladunni
Odu said this in Akure at
a summit organised by
female politicians in the
state.
Odu, a former
commissioner in the state
said: ”ln the last 20 years
of our uninterrupted
democracy, the female
folks in Ondo State have
only tasted the position of
Speaker of the House of
Assembly never a
governor, deputy
governor, chief of staff or
secretary to the state
government.
people in other parts of the state
should be subjected to torture and
untold sorrow.
“We have to look at different areas
of the state and know the kind of
security to provide. We should be
mindful of the architecture of security
to be provided as well as the
effectiveness of the architecture.
There is too much insecurity on the
land and there are so many success
attacks that might have been
preventable.
“There are things the government
will have to do right. For instance,
when the government took on the
fight for the first two month of
assumption of office in 2015, there
was spate in attacks but once the
government got its rhythm right and
started getting new equipments and
the new leadership of the military
was able to encourage the soldiers
and inspire them, you could see the
changes in the tide of battle.
Tempo of
insurgence
“In 2016, government dismantled
Boko Haram’s den in Sambisa forest
and took over the areas, those were
the golden days. Things were fine
then. 15months later, there was
resurgence in violence and until now.
The tempo of insurgence has been
increased.
“The tide of battle has shifted
again; we have daily murderous
attacks to overrun Damaturu,
Maiduguri among others. The
government has done well and they
are expected to do more. Most of the
people are doing guerilla tactics now
to strike but they are not holding
down the government the way they
used to do before.
“There are killings at will and there
are no good killings at all. I will not
tolerate killing of any kind.
Whatever lapses exploited should be
sealed.
According to
her: “Lagos
State is in the
frontline of
bringing
women into
active politics. lt
has successfully
brought into
limelight Mrs
Kofoworola
Bucknor
Akerele, Dr.
(Mrs) Ojikutu
ldiat Adebule,
Mrs Sarah
•Princess Oladunni Odu
Sosan and Mrs
Adejoke
Afefulire Orelope.”
“Osun State has also
“Ekiti State, a state
written its name by
younger than our state, has
bringing to limelight
produced three female
Otunba Grace Titilayo
deputy governors, Mrs
Laoye Tomori and Erelu
Abiodun Olujimi, Prof
Olusola Obada while
Aduke Adelabu who
Ogun State has not been
replaced Mrs Funmilayo
left out with Mrs Yetunde
Olayinka.
Bosede Onanuga.
By Ahmed Balarabe
HUMAN
trafficking
involving Nigerian girls that
are taken out of the country with
promises of lucrative jobs that turn
out to be sex slavery or forced labour
in West African and European
countries is a problem that still exists.
Media reports suggest that rather
than abating, the problem seems to
be assuming new dimensions every
day. Just recently, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-
Erewa, chairman and chief executive
officer of the Nigerian Diaspora
Commission, was on Channels
Television to talk about a group of
Nigerian girls that were stranded in
Lebanon and had to take refuge at
the Nigerian Embassy in Beirut.
What appeared to be good news
about the girls was that at the time
of the report, the embassy was
making plans to repatriate them
back home. There was no indication
about whether the girls left Nigeria
on their own volition in search of the
She said there are many
advantages of women
being involved in these key
positions at this time. We
need governance that will
put in place, policies that
will uphold the family and
sustain the society.
“lt is women that
understand certain policies
that affect the lives of
women, men and
children.”
Odu said inclusion of
women in democratic
positions is essential in
building and sustaining a
strong and vibrant
democracy.
She, however, stressed
the need for women to come
together, irrespective of
their political leaning and
strategise on how they can
lend their voice to the
struggle of women in
politics.
“I think the government is doing
its best based on its capability.
The insecurity on the land is porous
especially in the North East.
So many women have been kidnapped
in the bush.
“Are we really ready to accept
the fact that there is need for
prompt security mechanism? In
Nigeria, travellers are not secured.
proverbial green pastures or were
taken out of the country with
promises of jobs only to find
themselves in situations that made
their return home a compelling
necessity – a choice between life and
death. It is safe to say that there are
thousands of Nigerian girls abroad
in similar situations who do not have
the opportunity to return to their
country. Stories like the one under
reference and numerous others that
don’t find their way into the media
have encouraged the National
Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to
think outside the box in coming up
with a campaign tagged Not for Sale.
The campaign focuses on inspiring
and empowering young women in
Edo and Delta states, the two states
with the highest number of girls
trafficked into sex and domestic
slavery. The girls are forced to
achieve success on their own terms
without having to pay the price some
of their compatriots pay trying to
look for success outside the country.
The campaign
involves highlighting
and promoting
opportunities within
the country that could
be positively leveraged
for success by these
young girls. The
campaign particularly
emphasisesthat young
girls can find success in
their country and
therefore do not need
to embark on the highrisk
journey of going
abroad in search of
that success. As an
initiative, ‘Not for
Sale’is perhaps the
most innovative
programme to be embarked
upon by any
government agency,
whether at the federal
or state levels, to
address the hydraheaded
monster of
human trafficking. Its
uniqueness lies in the
fact that it does not only
seek to discourage girls
from embarking on the
often-fruitless journey
in search of success
They cannot be assured of good security
on the road. It is a total failure.
“No Nigerian should be subjected
to killings, torture or any insecurity
of all sorts. Government should be
responsible in the area of security.
Borno state is the largest city in
Nigeria but it is wrong to feel that
people in other parts of the state
should be subjected to torture and
untold sorrow. We have to look at
different areas of the state and know
the kind of security to provide. “We
should be mindful of the architecture
of security to be provided as well as
the effectiveness of the architecture.
There are so many successful attacks
that might have been preventable.
“Clearly the girl child is at a
disadvantage when it comes to
insecurity in Nigeria. Many of them
are vulnerable because of the
poverty in the land and the fact that
their parents are at a disadvantage
to provide security for them.
“Government needs to intensify
efforts on massive awareness,
creating information, security
education and vulnerable locations
should be identified and people
should be briefed on how to
strengthen their security so that girlchildren
are not abducted and
manipulated”, he said.
outside the shores of the country, but
also enlightening them to seeing the
much-needed alternatives available
to succeed at home. The attempt to
discourage these young women from
travelling abroad to look for means
of survival often fails to yield results
due to lack of satisfactory answers
to the question about alternatives at
home. The justification for the near
exodus of the country’s youth to
foreign countries has often been that
they would see no need to embark
on such trips if there were better
means of survival in the country. Now,
‘Not for Sale’is providing answers
to these questions. The success stories
of four young women in various fields
from Edo and Delta states, named,
Gift, Gladys, Blessing and Latifah,
should serve as positive inspiration
for girls in those two states to believe
that opportunities for success abound
at home.
The story of Gift, who could not
make it beyond Libya where she was
a victim of sexual abuse and torture
before being brought back home,
should make plain the fact that there
is no place like home. The common
message the four young women in
Not for Sale convey is simply that if
they could succeed in their respective
states, so can others. NAPTIP’s
initiative cannot succeed in
addressing the problem of human
trafficking if it begins and ends with
girls alone. What the agency is doing
in Edo and Delta states, can
effectively touch the lives of all the
young girls in those two states in need
of assistance.
The success of the campaign lies
in its replication in all states,
regardless of whether or not there
are stories of trafficking. Girls all
over of the country face the same
situations that drive some into the
search for success abroad. Governments
at state and local levels should
adopt the initiative by implementing
programmes that target training and
empowerment of young women, to
enable them achieve the success that
others put their lives on the line
travelling abroad to seek. That is the
only way the Not for Sale campaign
can achieve the objectives for which
it was introduced.
•Balarabe, a public affairs
commentator, wrote from Abuja