In what is supposed to be the twilight of the war against Boko haram, a terrorist group in Nigeria infamous for their wild carnage and plundering in their quest to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region(Western Africa) which got to its apogee of nefariousness when nearly 200 girls were kidnapped from school-boko haram has emphasized that it is against western education. Since its founder was unjustly assassinated by the Nigerian government in 2009, the group has pulled out its whole arsenal to battle the west African nation. We thought we had seen the last of girls being denied their fundamental rights to be educated with the release of most of the chibok girls that were kidnapped (4 years ago). Sadly, a fresh meal of stale beans has been served to the world. We would need diplomats who are able to negotiate a safe release of these girls as the pounding strategy employed by the Nigerian government has only seemed to be like bringing tanks to a sword fight. The lack of precision by their army endangers the lives of those they propose to save.
If the Dapchi girls are to be saved, tested diplomats must be invited to untie this difficult knot this time. The kind of diplomacy that is required is the soft diplomacy of Kissinger. Perhaps one day we would be able to answer the question of why boko haram targets young girls. It is probably because they are in search of child brides. How ironic is it that their sexual urges cannot be quelled. They are reckless in the sexual orgies with their victims and start a new generation of biological terrorists. Imagine what it feels like being raised by a terrorist daddy and a docile mummy. No one knows what kind of child such a person would become.
Of grave concern right now, is the safety of these girls and the need to reunite them with their families. This is non-negotiable and must be accomplished. If the Nigerian government claims that the war against Boko Haram has been won, I wonder what keeps the whole world pulsating each time children have to go to school to learn arithmetic, science, art and other branches of education. It is a shame that the world has let these Dapchi girls down just like we let the chibok girls down.
