David Mark Lambast Ezekwesili,BringBackOurGirls Campaigners

For the second time since the abduction of 276 female students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14, the campaigners for their return led by former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, engaged the Senate Presdent, Senator David Mark, in a hot exchange yesterday as Mark accused the women of politicising the campaign.

The campaigners, who stormed the National Assembly, demanding information on the whereabouts of the girls, said they had remained in the dark regarding moves for the rescue of the girls, adding that the only information within their reach was the recent remark of Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, that the location of the girls had been discovered.

The campaigners also told Mark that they were worried that 92 days after the girls’ abduction, only 57 of them had returned, leaving as many as 219 others in the captivity of Boko Haram.
According to her, no timeline for the rescue had been conveyed to the public nor any disclosure made about the target being worked upon, adding that as “standard bearers,” they had come to meet the senators in continuous expression of their sympathy for the plight of the mothers of the Chibok girls 92 days after.

Also speaking, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, who lamented their trauma over the campaign so far, wondered why they were being portrayed as enemies of the nation as she recounted how they were often being intimidated for merely showing concerns for the plight of the girls.

“Why are we being intimidated for standing for the abducted girls? Why are we now being portrayed as the enemies of the state?” she queried as she narrated to Mark how they were harassed by security men at the National Assembly gate before they could gain entrance.
But while Mark apologised for the harassment, he faulted the women’s claim of concerns for the plight of the girls, saying no group should portray itself to be more concerned than the other.

He also said the women should avoid working at cross purposes with the government but should rather co-operate with it in the effort to rescue the girls.
Mark also accused them of grandstanding over the abduction and asked them to desist from doing so.

Mark added: “I am not sure any Nigerian with blood flowing in his vein will be indifferent to the plight of the Chibok girls. Government has not ruled out any option in the quest to free our girls. Let us be on the same wavelength and free the girls alive. I don’t think any group should play politics with this matter.

“The case of the Chibok girls is a sad commentary.  Nobody anticipated this ugly trend. We are all under stress locally and internationally. The situation does not call on anybody to grandstand. All hands must be on deck to rescue the girls. We must do everything humanly possible to rescue the girls alive and end insurgency and terrorism in the land.”

But dissatisfied with Mark’s response, Ezekwesili said the Senate president had failed to provide tangible answers to their questions as she demanded to know what exactly the government was doing, whether it was dialoguing for the release of the girls or not.

But provoked by this comment, Mark said: “Oby, I hope you have not come here to hear from me that Chibok girls will be released tomorrow morning...Let’s not reduce this matter to a classroom discussion. We should be on the same wavelength and not on different wavelengths. They are doing everything possible to bring back the girls. I don’t know what tangible answer you want to get from me again. I’m not dialoguing with Boko Haram.”
He further said: “What is important to all of us is to work hard to bring our girls alive. Nobody should politicise this. Lives are involved and we are all fathers and mothers here. It is better imagined than witnessed.”