Shot Pakistan School Girl Malala Visits Nigeria ,To Meet Goodluck Jonathan

The 16-year-old Pakistani rights activist, Malala Yousafzai, who survived Taliban’s attempt to kill her after shooting her in the head over her campaign for girls’ education, arrived Nigeria on Sunday.

She promised to help free a group of school girls abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants during her stay in Nigeria.

Earlier on Sunday, according to Reuters, Malala met with parents of the over 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April by Boko Haram militants in their school at Chibok village in Borno State.

Boko Haram, believed to be a Taliban-inspired movement, had said it hinged its offensive against innocent Nigerians on the fight to establish an Islamic state in the country.

The group, whose name means “Western education is sinful,” since it launched an uprising in 2009, has killed thousands and abducted hundreds.

Some of the parents broke down into tears as Malala spoke at a hotel in  Abuja on Sunday.

“I can see those girls as my sisters... and I’m going to speak up for them until they are released. I’m going to participate actively in the ‘bring back our girls’ campaign to make sure that they return safely and they continue their education,” Reuters quoted Malala to have said.

The young activist, who will celebrate her 17th birthday today in Nigeria, is expected to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan.

The girls’ abduction drew unprecedented international attention to the war in the North-Eastern Nigeria and the growing security risk that Boko Haram poses to Nigeria, Africa’s leading energy producer.

A BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign supported by Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie heaped pressure on authorities to act, and President Jonathan pledged to save the girls, drawing promises of Western help to do so.

But several weeks on, the hostages have not yet been freed and media interest has waned.

In addition, Boko Haram, now considered as the main security threat to Nigeria, is growing bolder. The police said on Saturday they uncovered a plot to bomb the Abuja transport network using suicide bombers and devices concealed in luggage at major bus stations.

“I can feel... the circumstances under which you are suffering,” she said. “It’s quite difficult for parents to know that their daughter is in great danger. My birthday wish this year is.. bring back our girls now and alive.”

Taliban militants shot Malala for her outspoken views on women’s right to education. She survived after being airlifted to Britain for treatment and has since become a symbol of defiance against militants operating in the tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

She has won the European Union’s prestigious human rights award and was one of the favorites to win the Nobel Peace Prize last year, although the award ended up going to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

 

She is set to meet President Goodluck Jonathan before leaving the country