This article takes a critical look at the motives for the Bring Back Our Girls Group which was founded by members of the All Progressives Congress to discredit the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan leading up to the 2015 elections.
by Jacob Dickson
When former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan’s reaction to the intrigues that played out in respect of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, was aired on TV, it was watered down and became a blockbuster free-to-air comedy show.
Nigerians joked with the tears she shed and her cry of lamentation. She said: “Chai, chai there is God o!” Nigerians were quick to write-off what she said. When the first lady of Borno State failed to show up by bluntly refusing to honour her invitation, those same vuvuzelas that were chanting ‘change’ saw nothing wrong with that, but went on to make another snippet out of it.
“Na only you waka come?” Became an instant hit as the social and some media on the mainstream, used that as a comic relief to make people laugh. They were quick to become unsolicited attorneys for the wife of the Borno State governor.
It is now getting clearer and scales are beginning to fall from so many eyes, mine included, that the Bring Back Our Girls Group or BBOG which is its acronym; was not really concerned about the Chibok Girls, but was probably a merely sponsored gig aimed at attracting sympathy for the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). It is now not making much sense that nobody or group, or even the inquisitive Nigerian press, made efforts at investigating the source of funding of the group.
Okay! Why would adults who should be dealing with family responsibilities or even trying to solve personal needs idle away at the Unity Fountain and ‘influence’ the media to report their events, with some print media dedicating choice pages for their coverage. Could all that have been done for free?
Even if the media owners were magnanimous to dish out those free pages to the Bring Back Our Girls Group, were they at that time getting newsprint at subsidized rates, or were they even getting some cheques cashed in terms of payment for supplements?
In my opinion, Nigerians were scammed by Bring Back Our Girls Group. Though a few people then were vocal to have labeled the group as the activist wing of the APC, they were quickly dismissed by most media houses, which were either deliberately sympathetic to the party, or out rightly induced or blackmailed to fall in line with their heavily skewed propaganda.
Saying the APC relied heavily on propaganda to take power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is no longer news, but what many are still yet to see through is the aspect of the master propaganda, stemming from the Bring Back Our Girls Group and the ‘fake’ love for the Chibok Girls.
Okay! If they really loved the Chibok Girls and were not just out to do subtle but very damaging PR against the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, why have all of a sudden, their throats have gone dry.
We are no longer hearing of Bring Back Our Girls Group. The Unity Fountain is no longer attractive and we are no longer been reminded of the insensitivity of government on finding the girls.
Have the girls been found and the news of their rescue is being kept away from the public for security reasons? Or is it that those that were sponsoring the group are now in power and as such no longer fund its activities? What about all the media hype about Bring Back Our Girls Group? All of a sudden it has become silent.
Another question begging for answers is that: Was Hadiza Bala Usman deliberately appointed as the chief of staff to Governor Nasir el-Rufai to silent the group or she was ‘rewarded’ for her role in ‘convincing’ the electorates?
With her nomination and subsequent appointment as the managing director and chief of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, many, from conversations I have heard, believe she is being rewarded for a ‘good job’ well done. But whatever the case is, we should remember that there is truly God o! If we escape paying for the consequences of our actions or inactions in this lifetime, there is eternity to look forward to. We are still waiting for the real BBOG to emerge.
Jacob Dickson is a journalist and writes for Authentic News Daily. The Kaduna State government arrested him for reporting about youth attacks on Governor Nasir El Rufai and charged him for “incitement”. He can be reach by email HERE.
The opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the author.
