The kidnapping of schoolgirls from the small town of Chibok in Borno state, north-eastern Nigeria, close to two months ago has caused an international uproar in condemnation of the slow response by Nigerian authorities.
Nigeria's leaders and security services have been accused of sitting back and ignoring the Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Their initial response to the kidnappings, as seen by outsiders, could have been considered slow and inadequate - that is true.
But what other factors are affecting the situation in Nigeria, particularly in the northeast of the country? Why has it been so difficult for President Goodluck Jonathan's government to fight the scourge of Boko Haram, which has infiltrated so many sectors of Nigerian society?
Firstly, in looking at the kidnapping of the schoolgirls on 14 April, it seems that very little is known about what really happened. Figures of '276 girls,' 'nearly 300' and 'over 200' have been bandied about. How many girls were there really? and how many have escaped or returned to their parents?
The ignorance around this figure is indicative of the way in which this terrible kidnapping has been shrouded in rumour, uncertainty and hearsay. There seems to be a complete lack of communication - or, at the very least, very poor information management - about what has happened and what is being done.
Borno state, where the girls were kidnapped, is a vast terrain of 70 000 square kilometres - almost the size of a country like Ireland.
There are over 30 000 schools in the state, making it impossible for the authorities to have stationed security police at every school, despite Boko Haram's threats.
It is also a vastly underdeveloped area with inadequate infrastructure, and for decades little attention has been paid to economic development in the region. However, a proposed plan in the new budget - a sort of new 'Marshall Plan' announced by the Jonathan government - will hopefully promote development.
One should also ask: has the government really done nothing to try and get the girls back? Insiders close to the search say that a lot has been done to find the girls, and that they have, in fact, been located. Many actors - both from inside and outside Nigeria - are involved in the search.
Nigeria's leaders and security services have been accused of sitting back and ignoring the Boko Haram insurgency in the country. Their initial response to the kidnappings, as seen by outsiders, could have been considered slow and inadequate - that is true.
But what other factors are affecting the situation in Nigeria, particularly in the northeast of the country? Why has it been so difficult for President Goodluck Jonathan's government to fight the scourge of Boko Haram, which has infiltrated so many sectors of Nigerian society?
Firstly, in looking at the kidnapping of the schoolgirls on 14 April, it seems that very little is known about what really happened. Figures of '276 girls,' 'nearly 300' and 'over 200' have been bandied about. How many girls were there really? and how many have escaped or returned to their parents?
The ignorance around this figure is indicative of the way in which this terrible kidnapping has been shrouded in rumour, uncertainty and hearsay. There seems to be a complete lack of communication - or, at the very least, very poor information management - about what has happened and what is being done.
Borno state, where the girls were kidnapped, is a vast terrain of 70 000 square kilometres - almost the size of a country like Ireland.
There are over 30 000 schools in the state, making it impossible for the authorities to have stationed security police at every school, despite Boko Haram's threats.
It is also a vastly underdeveloped area with inadequate infrastructure, and for decades little attention has been paid to economic development in the region. However, a proposed plan in the new budget - a sort of new 'Marshall Plan' announced by the Jonathan government - will hopefully promote development.
One should also ask: has the government really done nothing to try and get the girls back? Insiders close to the search say that a lot has been done to find the girls, and that they have, in fact, been located. Many actors - both from inside and outside Nigeria - are involved in the search.
No comments:
Post a Comment