“How APC, media ‘hijacked’ Chibok story to enthrone Buhari” – Nigerian journalist
Nigerian journalist and educator Fola Adekeye shared the following on Facebook today.
Chibok: the Untold Story
We meant it when we asked doubters of Chibok story to kulu temper. It is always better to err on the side of humanity than to offend the God of little children.
But, is it true that 280 WAEC-writing SS3 students were abducted inside the school televised on CNN?
The answer is not a straight No. And neither a straight Yes.
APC simply cashed in on often-repeated abduction of young and married women that violent period. Don’t forget. Initially, Boko Haram was not an enemy forces in the north. The group was initially revered just as Afenifere still regards the youths in her renewal movement.
So, abduction of young women was not initially treated as a crime when Boko Haram members were coming to towns and villages mostly after Juma’t Prayers to “collect” young women, impregnate them and return them to town. Honest people living in Kano, Sokoto, Borno, Zamfara, Niger, Kebbi, Gombe, Yobe and Adamawa can attest to such barbarities.
Over time, things went out of control and the Chibok narrative was born. The abduction of some Christian schoolgirls in Chibok helped the narrative. APC, being the leading party in opposition helped their wailing parents to project their stories. The killer punch was the numbers of schoolgirls allegedly abducted overnight at Chibok. Within a confused week, the figure ran from 280 to 200.
The truth of the matter is that only Boko Haram members know the numbers of young women in their forests. That is the truth.
The Chibok story was good only for the press. And the press did their best on Chibok story given the political circumstance. Woe betides any reporter to look into the armpit of the damsel. Right from independence, Nigerian press is a protest press. The opposition always get the best of our press. Why? Nigerian press is constantly in search of good people to rule Nigeria.
So, the Chibok story was the winning APC story. The Chibok story was the story of the opposition.
How many schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok school? Only God knows. The Principal was in the employment of an APC Governor. The narrative was however weakened by the disclosure that the abducted Chibok girls were writing WAEC when they were abducted. WAEC always keep recent passport photographs of their candidates for proper invigilation. But, WAEC saw the politics and wisely kept a sealed lip on whether or not 280 students were writing its papers at Chibok during the abduction.
The good news today is that Boko Haram is having a change of mind. It is releasing abducted young women in batches. And our government is kindly rehabilitating them. They will soon return to their families and resume good lives. May their wounds heal fast in Jesus name.
Now, you know why it is better to believe the Chibok story because Boko Haram actually abducted many young women in the north. The abduction in Chibok school only supplied the narrative. The Chibok story is the story of the sad abduction of young women in the entire north, not Chibok town alone.
Thank you!
I consider this article a pretty fair piece.
The writer aptly concluded it excellently when he averred rightly that it is better to err on the part of humanity than to hurt the sensibilities of hapless victims
A wise writer, I never believed in that tale. But the writer made one good observation. Before the chibok sage, I remember reading that some girls were abducted in that state, there’s no doubt about that. He is right where he said that ‘the abduction in Chibok school only supplied the narrative. The Chibok story is the story of the sad abduction of young women in the entire north, not Chibok town alone.