“Chibok girls are valueless because they are not oil or pipelines”

– Oby Ezekwesili says the Chibok Girls would have been rescued if they were the daughters of the elite

– According to her, the Chibok girls are valueless because they are not oil or pipelines

– Ezekwesili says she will not get tired of talking

Oby Ezekwesili, the former minister of Education and convener of Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement has accused the federal government of not doing enough to rescue the Chibok girls.

According to her, the Chibok girls are valueless because they are not oil or pipelines, The Nation reports.

Ezekwesili believes that the girls would have been rescued if they were the daughters of the elite. The ex-minister added that their abduction symbolises “our failure as a nation”.

Oby Ezekwesili, the convener of Bring Back Our Girls movement has accused the federal government of not doing enough to rescue Chibok girls.

Speaking on Sunday, April 17, at the Daystar Christian Centre, Oregun, Lagos, Ezekwesili said: “Citizens’ lives mean nothing because there is something that substitute for them — in our case it is oil. The Chibok girls could be ignored because they are not oil pipelines. They could be gone and yet money will enter the treasury. Our humanity was deadened by an elite obsession with the benefits of oil. Our elite showed us as citizens how to be dead to our humanity.”

“The Chibok girls are valueless because they are not oil or pipelines. They are symbols of our failure as a nation. Our humanity has been deadened by our obsession with oil.

“It is time to define a new nation where everyone will be important than any other thing. God is reminding us that life is not about acquisitions.”

“The abduction of the girls happened almost two months after the murder of 29 school boys in Buni Yadi, Yobe state.

“The boys’ massacre occurred on February 23 2014. When the news broke, I was devastated. I told myself this has to be a turning point in the war against terrorism. I screamed and screamed and in response to my scream all we did was hold a centenary dinner.

“Some of my colleagues in the global community who attended the ceremony queried our humanity. They didn’t understand why the event went on. I thought to myself if Boko Haram gets away with this, then we may have a bigger problem in our hands. I put myself out there and said there was something called moral hazard- if a person behaves badly and isn’t punished, he has a licence for even worse behaviour.

“My thoughts came to pass on April 14 2014 when 219 school girls were kidnapped in Chibok, Borno state. When the news broke, we pretended like nothing had happened. Life went on. No one in government seems concerned.

“I told myself I wasn’t going to stop talking. I will talk till they are rescued. Justice must be done for those girls because they symbolise the failure of governance in a nation that doesn’t understand that God looks at government as an institution that exists because of the needs of the poor. The rich and mighty can do without government.

“If they were the children of the rich, a search party would have gone forth immediately. But it is unfortunate that this has to happen to 219 innocent school girls from poor backgrounds. From April 15, 2014 till date, cries for justice have continued for them.

“Many have said to me it is time to move on but I told them about the pledge I made to their parents. I remember when I saw the parents for the first time; they held onto me and said I should promise that I won’t keep quiet.

“For us, we stand to declare that our Chibok girls represent a thorn in the flesh of our nation. A nation can afford to ignore its citizens when it sees no value in them. Nations that have made economic progress and achieve development value their citizens. It is time for us to define a new nation. A nation where anyone, no matter their rank or position, will be more important to us than any other thing. What God has done with this situation is to remind us that life is not about acquisition.”

Over 200 students were abducted from their boarding school hostels in Chibok, Borno state by Boko Haram insurgents in April 2014.

This stirred up a movement called #BringBackOurGirls who have been demanding for the release of the girls. But two years after, the girls whereabouts is still unknown.

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“Chibok girls are valueless because they are not oil or pipelines”