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| Ibadan Women in red scarves to campaign #bringbackourgirls |
There are reports that the United States that will assist their Nigerian military and intelligence experts and now on ground in Nigeria. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the team comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies and said he hoped the kidnapping would galvanise the international community to take action against Boko Haram.
In addition to tweets by Nigerian in Abuja and Borno, see below, United States secretary of state, John Kerry has also confirmed that the US team is in Nigeria and set to start work. The BBC reports Mr. Kerry as saying;
"Our inter-agency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working in concert with President Goodluck Jonathan's government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls to their families and their communities. We are also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram."
Some tweets from eye witnesses;
On CNN, there is also analysis on why all the efforts by the Nigerian government so far have not yielded much results in bringing back the Chibok schoolgirls. The discussion is summarized under the following points;
It’s been more than three weeks
The forest borders Cameroon
Location and number of hostages are factors
Nigerian military isn’t the most trustworthy
It’s also ill-equipped
Boko Haram beheads negotiators
Boko Haram members are always on the move
Shekau is a cold, ruthless monster
The bounty on Shekau's head may not help much
President Jonathan, speaking at the World Economic Forum currently being held in Abuja, has thanked China, the US, the UK and France for their offers of help to rescue the girls. He said the abduction of the Chibok girls could be a turning point in the battle against Boko Haram.
"I believe that the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end of terror in Nigeria," he said.
France announced on Thursday that their way of helping will be to station about 3,000 troops in Nigeria's neighbouring countries. These troops will help countries like Cameroun, Chad and Niger to help tackle Islamist militants in their border regions.
I really hope the support from these countries, when combined with the military's rescue efforts leads to the girls being returned safely to their families. And even more maybe it will end Boko Haram.
Amen!!!
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