Federal government frustrated my efforts to free Chibok girls trice – Boko Haram close pal, Salkida

Freelance journalist, Ahmad Salkida, has revealed that several attempts made by him to free the abducted Chibok girls from captivity had been frustrated by the federal government.

Salkida, who is believed to have direct links to Boko Haram terrorists, said he met the girls and their captors at the instance of the federal government.

In an email to Daily Trust on Sunday, Salkida faulted the narratives of the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and President Muhammadu Buhari’s biographer,Professor John Paden, on why the rescue of the Chibok girls is yet to be actualised.

“At least, today, I am probably the only one who has gone to location of swaps with detainees and I set my eyes on the girls in their early days in captivity, under a presidential cover to negotiate,” he said.

Salkida, who had been in the United Arab Emirates on self-exile since 2013, recently returned to Nigeria after he, with two others were declared wanted by the Nigerian Army for having “links” with the Boko Haram and not divulging certain information.

Salkida said it was not true that the leadership of Boko Haram demanded 5 billion Euros (roughly N1.7 trillion) as ransom for the release of the abducted girls as stated by Paden in his book “Muhammadu Buhari: The challenge of leadership in Nigeria”.

According to him, “I’m not sure I understand why our leaders choose to declassify important aspects of this negotiation when the girls are still in captivity, but I can categorically say that the claim of a demand of 5 billion Euros as published by President Buhari’s biographer is not the truth.

“While it is true that the captors of the Chibok girls have shifted the goal post several times when a swap deal was near, we must ask ourselves, what was responsible for the volatility that has denied the rest of the surviving Chibok girls and other captives’ freedom?

“How did I know this and write with such audacity? I was the only negotiator that was flown to Maiduguri with some detainees in an Air Force plane and I stayed in the Maimalari military barracks for over three weeks with the detainees, trying to reach a deal.

“From my professional experience with both parties namely government authorities and the insurgents, I can state that these abducted girls would long have returned home if political and security officials in government had shown better understanding of what is at play.

“Never, even from the days of former President Goodluck Jonathan to today’s dispensation has government accepted a window of say two, three weeks and abided by it. So, we are dealing with insurgents who do not recognize your bureaucratic heritage and continue to shut out the windows each time the indicated timelines elapsed, and also dealing with political and security authorities that never considered it expedient to do their housekeeping ahead of acceptance of negotiation windows that are tied to timelines.

“There is no point to delve into much detail at this point, but suffice it to state that both sides have their share of blame. My experience is that both the Buhari led government and the preceding Jonathan administration desired a negotiated end to this imbroglio but none ever showed any hunger in tracking the footprints and understanding the tendencies of the enemy.

“I was not only involved in one or two attempts to free the Chibok girls with the current government, but on three separate occasions and even as recently as May/June, 2016, few months before I was declared wanted for allegedly refusing to cooperate with the same government and for having “links to terrorism” by the Nigerian Army,” Salkida said.

SOURCE: Dailypostng

Air Force: Another fight for girl-child

Inside the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Abuja, the vision statement of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar was boldly written. The statement reads:  “To re-position the NAF into a highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective, efficient and timely employment of air power in response to Nigeria’s national security imperatives.”

On the surface, it may look like one of those well-crafted mission statements which usually end up as empty statements, but for the man who is referred to simply as “chief”, the vision is worth every weight.

One of the ways which the CAS is hoping to re-write history and fulfil his vision is through education not only of Air Force personnel-which is done through training- but also providing for the needs of the dependents of his men through provision of world-class educational facilities.

One of such is the Air Force Girls’ Comprehensive School located at the NAF Base Abuja.  The NAF was not the original initiator of the school, but the Nigerian Air Force Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA) led by Hajia Hafsat  Abubakar, wife of the CAS. But the NAF took over the construction of the school after NAFOWA ran out of resources to complete it in 2013.

In December 2015, the CAS directed that work should resume and in eight months, a world class infrastructure stood in the ruins of the abandoned structure. What was built was described by the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan as a “21st century school.”  The sparkling new school boasts a mini stadium, dining hall, hostel, tennis court, fully equipped classrooms, a library and a clinic. There is a standby generator to provide electricity while the science, art and agriculture laboratories and four other classrooms are equipped with interactive white boards which enables the students to experience the three ways of learning: hear, see, feel.

Educating the girl child

The CAS did not bite his lips when he enumerated the importance of educating the girl child and why the NAF view it as one of its cardinal focus.” Our experience in fighting insurgency in the Northeast indicates the exploitation of the girl-child by insurgents due to low literacy level. At present, birth rate statistics show that 65 percent of births are girls. It is documented by most state Ministries of Education that the enrolment of girls in secondary schools is below 45 percent.

“This statistic is further supported by the results of the West African Examination Council. For instance in 2011out of a total of 688,516 girls that sat for the examination, only 226,804 got 5 credits. Similarly in 2012, about 747,553 girls sat for the examination and only 310,822 were successful.”

The CAS said this NAF resolved to establish the school as “our modest contribution to Mr. President’s efforts at enhancing girl-child education in Nigeria.” With the new school, the NAF now has two secondary schools dedicated to girl-child education with one in Jos and Abuja respectively. He added that the school will educate the hearts and minds of the girls that would pass through its gates.

For the Minister of Education, the construction of the school was “humbling” also stressing that the ratio of girl child education to boys is 1:3 in some states. This is also reinforced by the extremism of Boko Haram and the risks associated with girl child education kept the female educational attainment perpetually low.

After commissioning the school and a tour of the facilities was conducted, Dr. Yemi Esan said: “ I came here with some uncertainties but I am impressed, this school is directed towards the underprivileged to curt out of school syndrome, we encourage other arms of government to follow suit, this is a 21st century school.”

Yemi- Esan would not be the only one to be impressed, the next day at the Air Force Base Kaduna where NAFOWA had rehabilitated a nursery school and added the NAFOWA Little Angels Primary School, the CAS was also left impressed.

“I am overwhelmed,” he said when he was called to make a remark after the school had been commissioned by Hajia Aisha Buhari, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the wife of Kaduna State Governor, Hajia Hadiza El-rufai.

“Four years ago, I brought my daughter to the crèche here, but I am sure she cannot recognize her school again because of the transformation,” he said. Like the girls school, the NAFOWA Primary school was built to world standard with ample playing room for the children, a fully equipped library and computer centre, spacious and conducive atmosphere for learning, white black boards, fully equipped home economics room and a crèche with modern facilities.

While the CAS may have focused on education for the dependents of personnel, the real driver of these projects is adding value to the society.” Adding value to the society is our core mandate, I strongly belief that adding value to the society is the best legacy we can bequeath to our children,” he said.

But there is also a greater vision: thinking ahead.

“We have recruited 2,400 personnel and with the increase, you must start thinking of infrastructure. Our actions are driven by the desire to add value to society and that is the right direction to go,” he said.

There are many worries that come with such projects, will the infrastructure not a pointer to an exorbitant school fees.  Will the school be opened to children of civilians and how would the NAF maintain such a high standard facility, how much was expended into the project?

The CAS has answers for all. The school will follow the usual NAF fees schedule without adding anything on, the school will be opened to civilians, the NAF has maintenance structure put in place and the schools are of high standard so will stand the test of time and the schools are built using direct labour from the NAF, thereby cutting costs and enhancing the skills of Air Force engineers.

SOURCE: Thenationonlineng

Ambode promises to deal with sex offenders, others

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday led a walk against sexual and gender –based violence, vowing that his administration would ensure that all perpetrators of sexual crimes face the wrath of the law.

The members of the Lagos State Executive Council, members of the Sttate House of Assembly and entertainers, among others, joined in the walk, which started from the Ikeja under bridge area through Awolowo Way to the Lagos House, Alausa.

The governor, who displayed a placard with the inscription ‘Stop Rape, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse’, said men must take a stand by tackling the menace of gender-based crimes in the society.

He said, “Women are mostly the victims of sexual and gender-based violence and there is an evident trend of suppressing the voice of these victims due to the fact that these acts are perpetrated largely by men.

“We should not take for granted the effect of having emotionally and psychologically damaged women in our society, which could transcend to our children.”

Ambode said the government had initiated several programmes to assist the victims, adding that it was also pertinent to address the violent behaviour of men.

He said, “We firmly believe that the way forward is to continuously engage the men, as well as the community as a whole, to prevent and respond to all forms of gender-based violence.”

Ambode urged the participants in the walk to remain ambassadors in the fight against domestic and sexual violence.

“The conversation must be sustained in our workplaces, religious institutions, residential areas and the social media. If we all join hands, we can truly make Lagos uncomfortable for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence,” he added.

The governor also commended the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, organisers of the walk, just as he said his administration would do more to ensure that the rights of the vulnerable in the state were adequately protected.
SOURCE: Punchng

Senate Raises Alarm Over Rising Cases Of Child Abuse

The Upper Chamber made these resolution after a federal lawmaker, Senator Oluremi Tinubu raised a motion on the 2016 Children’s Day celebration.

Senator Tinubu had raised an alarm at the rising cases of violence against children in Nigeria.

She presented from the newspapers, the case of an 18-month-old boy who was allegedly attacked by his step-mothers and was left with broken limbs and injuries to his private parts.

She described the incident as disheartening and emphasized the need to ensure that the Senate enacts more laws to protect children and take all necessary steps to bring such violence to an end.

The Senate has also appealed to the Federal Government to ensure the rescue of the Chibok girls who are currently in the captivity of Boko Haram insurgents.

They also asked the joint committees on Women Affairs and Health, to visit Internally Displaced Persons’ camps and celebrate Children’s Day with the children there.
SOURCE: Channelsnews

Future For Our Girls

On 14 April 2014 the insurgency group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from their local school in Chibok in Nigeria. Two years on, most of the girls are still missing. And they are not alone: We estimate that a total of 2,000 women and girls, as well as many boys have been abducted.

Distressingly, girls and women that do return face mistrust and persecution. Communities fear they may have been radicalized, and their children born of sexual violence 'tainted' by the blood of Boko Haram fighters. This puts them at risk of discrimination and even potential violence in the future.

A new project by International Alert and UNICEF seeks to address this. We aim to give returning women and girls a future and support their re-integration.

Together with our partners, Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Herwa Community Development Initiative, we run collective therapy sessions and dialogue clubs where survivors can talk about their experiences. We also help local communities prepare for their return by fostering empathy and trust.

The project is in early days, but is already helping transform lives. Read some of their stories below.

But there is an urgent need - and opportunity - to scale up this work. This is why we are calling on the international community to not only #BringBackOurGirls, but also step up support for the girls and their communities when they do return.

Please join us to help raise awareness of these issues, and help build a better #FutureForOurGirls!

SOURCE: International-alert