The truth, nothing but thetruth

The truth, nothing but thetruth

Source:The Sun news Reporter

The Truth, Nothing But The Truth. What are
we asking for? The Truth…Nothing But the
truth!

If there is any currency that is in short
supply in the governance of our country at
the moment, it is Truth and invariably,
trust. Trust that is founded on Truth is
what ordinary citizens can repose in their
government and leaders. The questions
therefore are: Why did our government
deliberately mislead the entire country and
the whole world with that cheery but
phantom news of ceasefire and the release
of our Chibok Girls? Does the government
realize the extent of the embarrassment
that Nigerians now feel before the whole
world and what damage they have done to
their already eroded social capital? What
point was the presidential campaign aide,
lavishly reported in the media, making by
audaciously telling Nigerians to “move on”
because “the President would not wait
endlessly for the return of more than 200
school girls abducted mid-April in Chibok?”
Move on?
Hopefully, this campaign team will get to
learn that many around the world are not
moving on from the travails of the Chibok
girls whose only “crime” was that they
turned up in school to acquire education.
While I do not believe that the president, as
a father himself, would ever want to “move
on” until he discharges his obligation to our
#ChibokGirls, one considers the current
jarring silence about their rescue not one
bit golden. Citizens’ right to know should
compel a speedy and truthful update on the
status of efforts to rescue our girls.
However, there are other pertinent
questions: What is really going on in Mubi,
Gombe, Potiskum, Yola and all our
territories in the North East? We are
puzzled by the many things which do not
add up in our country today and we
demand for the TRUTH regarding our
counter insurgency strategy. On the loss of
territories, a recent analysis puts the land
area under Boko Haram control as
equivalent to the size of three of our 36
states. How can that be? What exactly is
being done to reclaim those territories
beyond assurances? On the bombing that
killed over 40 school children on the spot
and rendered several others injured, what
exactly are the authorities doing beyond
empty lamentations that go on in parri
passu with political jamboree?
It is indeed noteworthy that Nigerians now
lament the elite and governance failures
that have robbed our nation of the glory
days of our relatively strong military and
superb intelligence capabilities. Yet it is
only systemic corruption that could render
an institution prostrate and unwittingly
empower a band of renegades to become
some sort of “Goliath army” that now daily
terrorizes us in our own land. That also
explains the perennial failure of government
to deliver basic services to the larger num­
ber.
There is no sobering symbol of this failure
than the governance crisis that has reduced
Nigeria to a country which cannot at this
time safeguard the future of her children
who risk being killed whenever they turn up
in school within the North-east zone. I
recall that between 2006 and 2007,
available data revealed how far behind the
rest of Nigeria the North-east was on
school enrollment, transition and
completion; and so we designed and
implemented a number of common sense
policies and funding interventions to help
improve their performance.
Even at that time, the situation was more
terrible for girls. Throughout history,
education has been, and remains even now,
the best form of equality of opportunity that
every society can offer its citizens.
Therefore, removing obstacles in the way of
those thirsty for knowledge is easily the
most important role of government in
equalizing opportunity.
If a country really wishes to close all gaps
that manifest in inequalities among
different groups and segments, it places
education at the center of development. Un­
fortunately, when our children show up in
schools in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and now
Gombe States to obtain knowledge, they
face the risk of being killed, injured or
abducted. Have members of our political
elite of all hues and colour given sufficient
thoughts to the fact that our failure to
secure our children amounts to asking
them to either forget about education or
surrender themselves to be killed or
abducted? We need an answer for this
question and the Truth, nothing but the
Truth.
In February 2014, insurgents struck at the
Federal Government College, Buni Yadi and
killed 59 school boys; nothing happened.
However, the Chibok Girls abduction
became a major turning point. This time
around, some of our citizens decided that
“enough is enough” and that they would act
together to compel those with the
constitutional responsibility to act on behalf
of the girls in distress to do so. Nearly 200
days after, we continue to hold our daily
solidarity gatherings at the Unity Fountain.
That the assemblage is made up of people
from all walks of life, ethnicity, religion;
political, economic and social divide is very
telling of citizens’ resolve. Today, these
Nigerians are eager to unravel the truth
behind the failures that have cost us
several thousands of lives only in 2014
alone and that keep our ChibokGirls still
captive on this Day 213 of their abduction.
In February this year, I put the issues
clearly before the members of our political
class and what I said back then still
resonates today: “Terrorists became em­
boldened by the absence of our political
class across the entire spectrum of political
leadership who decided to “play their nor­
mal politics” with the blood of the poor. The
blood soaked land is convulsing…Is it
therefore not unconscionable that in the
over nearly three years of rising trend of
terrorist attacks against whole communities
in the central and north eastern states of
Nigeria where our kith and kin have regu­
larly been slaughtered in cold blood; the
milk of empathy has not yet flowed from
our Elders in the Land in the entire political
spectrum to suspend ‘transactional
politicking’ and build a united front against
this newest common enemy?”
“Is it not unconscionable that despite the
massive public resources committed to
security spending, the government has
failed to inspire confidence in majority of
our people who are practically left to their
own devices? In shock, Nigerians have won­
dered whether our political class which
carries on with politicking to ‘capture or
retain power’ is comfortable to govern
communities of the dead, the maimed and
the psychologically traumatised. Is it not
time for all our political leaders to pay that
utmost sacrifice of leadership- lay down
their personal gain for the good of the
people they wish to lead?”
Like James Garfield once said, “the truth
will set you free, but first it will make you
miserable”. So, we shall never stop asking
for the Truth from our government; the
Truth, nothing but the Truth. We shall ask
until our #ChibokGirls are brought back
home and alive…We shall ask until all of
North East zone is reclaimed and peace is
restored to our land…We shall ask until the
professional integrity of our hitherto
globally-respected military is restored. We
shall ask until every Nigerian feels safe and
secure again in our land.
For those who ask about what we demand
as we stand daily for our 219 daughters,
the answer is simple: The Truth, nothing
but the Truth! #BringBackOurGirls­
NowAndAlive! The Offices of the Citizens
are now activated.
,Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education,
belongs to the BBOG, standing for the
Chibok girls.