Three weeks after their horrifying abduction in Nigeria, 276 of the more
than 300 girls who were taken from a school by armed militants are
still missing, possibly sold into slavery or married off. Nigerian
security forces apparently do not know where the girls are and the
country’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, has been shockingly slow and
inept at addressing this monstrous crime.
On Tuesday,This is not the first time Boko Haram has attacked students, killing
the United Nations Children’s Fund said Boko Haram, the ruthless
Islamist group that claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, abducted
more young girls from their homes in the same part of the country in
the northeast over the weekend. The group, whose name roughly means
“Western education is a sin,” has waged war against Nigeria for five
years. Its goal is to destabilize and ultimately overthrow the
government. The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in a video
released on Monday, “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.”
young men and kidnapping young women. The security situation in
Northeast Nigeria has steadily deteriorated. In the first three months
of this year, attacks by Boko Haram and reprisals by government security
forces have killed at least 1,500 people, more than half of them
civilians, according to Amnesty International. Until now, there has been
little response to the violence, either in Nigeria or internationally.
But the kidnapping of so many young girls, ages 12 to 15, has triggered
outrage and ignited a rare anti government protest movement in Nigeria.
On Sunday,
after weeks of silence, Mr. Jonathan admitted that “this is a trying
time for our country,” and he said that Nigerians were justified in
their anger against the government and appealed for international help.
The reaction of Mr. Jonathan’s wife, Patience, was stunningly callous;
according to state news media, she told one of the protest leaders, “You
are playing games. Don’t use schoolchildren and women for
demonstrations again.”
Boko Haram’s claim that it follows Islamic teachings is nonsense. A
pre-eminent Islamic theological institute, Al-Azhar in Egypt, denounced
the abductions, saying it “completely contradicts the teachings of Islam
and its tolerant principles.” Although Boko Haram is believed to number
no more than a few hundred men, Nigerian security forces have been
unable to defeat them.
Mr. Jonathan, who leads a corrupt government that has little
credibility, initially played down the group’s threat and claimed
security forces were in control. It wasn’t until Sunday,
more than two weeks after the kidnappings, that he called a meeting of
government officials, including the leader of the girls’ school, to
discuss the incident. There is no doubt the intelligence and
investigation help President Obama offered on Monday is needed.
The kidnappings occurred just as President Jonathan is about to hold the
World Economic Forum on Africa, with 6,000 troops deployed for
security. That show of force may keep the delegates safe, but Nigeria’s
deeply troubled government cannot protect its people, attract investment
and lead the country to its full potential if it cannot contain a
virulent insurgency.
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