It is shocking just as it is unbelievable that the 4 FGC Yauri schoolgirls released last Friday have spent almost 2 YEARS in captivity. Yes it is shocking especially when juxtaposed with the fact that these innocent girls were held captive in Nigeria by the terrorists. They were not taken to space or in another country, they are within the BORDERS of NIGERIA, in our country presumably around the forests in Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, and Kaduna states yet the government cannot deploy its huge resources particularly TECHNOLOGY to rescue these innocent girls.
How can some ragtag terrorists hold Nigeria to ransom? Haba!
The 4 released girls have come home after the payment of N100 million ransom to the terrorists yet the terrorist are still holding on to 7 more girls. Two of the released schoolgirls girls came home with their babies clutched in their arms.
Of course these babies were fathered by the terrorists and that’s another sore point.
The only offence committed by these girls is that they chose to go to school and build a better future for themselves only to be abducted and raped by terrorists for two years!
The government encouraged parents to send their daughters to school. The parents did. Yet the government cannot provide security for these girls. If you cannot provide security, why asking people to send their wards to school?
The outgoing government could not save these innocent girls from the terrorists.
The lives of these innocent girls has literally been destroyed by these callous and inhuman terrorists. Yet we claim that we have government ‘at all levels’
For the avoidance of doubt, the primary purpose of government is to provide security to life and property as enshrined in section 14(2)(b) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and to this extent, the government has failed woefully. Since the government failed on security, it has failed on EVERYTHING.
It is worth asking: what is the federal ministry of communications (and so-called digital economy) doing with its huge budget that it cannot deploy technology and work with our gallant soldiers and other security agencies to rescue the girls? Why is it that the MDAs under the federal ministry of communications and science and technology as well cannot deploy technology to digitally demobilise these terrorists and deny them the space to operate? Why should terrorists be allowed to use mobile phones for years on end to negotiate ransom payment and not tracked down through the subscriber identity module (SIM) card?. Sometimes these terrorist tell the families of victims to ‘call them at so so time’ or ‘send text because they are busy’
What an outrage!
The following agencies either do not know what they are doing or are not interested in doing what they are supposed to do i.e use technology and collaborate with other security agencies to deny terrorists the space to operate:
1. The federal ministry of communications and digital economy
2. The national communications commission NCC
3. The National information technology development agency NITDA
4. The National identity management Commissionn NIMC,
5. The National space research and development agency NSRDA
Why can’t the federal ministry of communications, NCC and NITDA stop the use of mobile phones by the terrorists to negotiate ransom payment and perpetrate crime and criminality?
Why can’t the NSRDA use satellites and drones to identify terrorists locations and work with the security agencies to eliminate these terrorists?
Why can’t the NIMC ensure that all phone subscribers are properly registered through their SIM cards linked to their NIN so that any terrorist who makes an unlawful call can be tracked down?
This war against the terrorists cannot be won through just military force.
We must thank our soldiers, police and other security agencies for what they are doing to keep us safe but TECHNOLOGY is key to winning this war against terrorists.
How could a terrorist use a mobile phone to negotiate with the parents of these innocent FGC Yauri schoolgirls for 2 YEARS yet he cannot be tracked down?
The SIM card the terrorist is using cannot be traced. Where is the so-called SIM-NIN policy that the federal ministry of communications launched with so much fanfare and deceived Nigerians into believing that it will stop kidnapping and other related criminal activities?
4 innocent girls have been released but the terrorists are still holding on to 7 other innocent girls. They have vowed to release them when they want NOT when we want. Pray they release them.
The incoming Asiwaju administration should do things different from the outgoing Buhari administration on security. President-elect Asiwaju should identify competent, committed, passionate, qualified and capable hands to handle communications so that technology can be employed in the fight against security.
We simply cannot continue this way when terrorists hold the whole nation to ransom.
The case of the 11 innocent FGC Yauri schoolgirls whose lives have been destroyed by terrorists simply because they chose education is a very clear failure of government and an outrage.
