Chibok Girls: Renewed Pressure On Obama

RENEWED pressure is being mounted on US President Barack Obama to provide more attention and resources regarding efforts to find the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted last year by Boko Haram, as the matter of the whereabouts of the girls took an unusual international center stage during the week in New York.

Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram gunmen in a convoy of Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles laden with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) attacked the twin towns of Marte and Mafa in Borno state, in an attempt to regain control and occupation of them from the Nigerian troops.

“As the insurgents stormed our village in the early hours of Friday, many people were killed, while fleeing into nearby bushes and farmlands. Some were also killed that night, their throats slit. I escaped into the bush, climbed a tree and hid for six hours,” said a resident.

A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), Hamidu Parkwas, told The Guardian on phone yesterday that over 2,000 Boko Haram insurgents armed with sophisticated weapons on Thursday attacked Marte, before attacking Mafa, near Maiduguri.

At least in three major events with top American elites in attendance, the issue of the girls was publicly and privately discussed with the involvement of top US political leaders, the media and activists.

Specifically, The Guardian can confirm that two important senior aides and associates of President Obama have offered to explore new opportunities on how to support the incoming Buhari-Osinbajo presidency’s effort to destroy Boko Haram and possibly secure a definitive word on the fate of the girls.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Samantha Power and Obama’s White House Senior Adviser, Valerie Jarret, are said to be among those who have promised to see how the US President can do more to support Nigeria and reopen some of the US options of assistance earlier offered in the effort to locate and rescue the girls and destroy Boko Haram.

There have been reported stories of frustrated past efforts between the US and Nigerian government, but sources say such mutual misunderstanding that has negatively impacted on US ability to do more in the search and rescue mission of the girls may soon be over with the renewed wave of American support now expected to be explored again.