President Muhammadu Buhari ,still basking in the euphoria of the release of 21 of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram, said yesterday that government was working hard to get the others back home.
“About 100 more (girls) are still in the hands of the terrorists,” Buhari told reporters in Berlin after a meeting with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. “We hope we’ll get some … intelligence to go about securing the balance.”
Shortly before departing for Berlin on Thursday,Buhari had assured Nigerian that government owed it a duty to “continue to secure them wherever they are.”
Relations of one of the 21 freed girls freed on Thursday after two-and-a-half years in captivity said yesterday they could not wait to be reunited.
An overjoyed Goni Mutah, the father of Asabe Goni, who was 21 when she was kidnapped,set out for Abuja yesterday from his abode in Yola,Adamawa State,to reunite with her.
He phoned his relations to share the news as soon as he was informed that Asabe had been released.
“Seeing her will bring happiness to us,” Samuel, a cousin of Asabe, said,adding:”And we will hear about the other girls.”
He said the family’s joy would have been total had his sister, Margaret, and several other relations who had been kidnapped in Chibok, been among the 21 freed girls.
Nigerians continued to hail the Federal Government yesterday over the release of 21 Chibok girls.
They urged government to make the rehabilitation of the girls and their education a priority.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Ladi Williams, said: “Thank God that the girls came back alive and we don’t have to go about picking their corpses from the forests.
“They shouldn’t rest on their oars as far as rescuing the remaining girls is concerned. I am very happy with what the Federal Government is doing by first of all taking care of their health and condition.
“ I am sure the hospitals will have the necessary experts and equipment to take care of them. They should also look into their education.”
Nigeria,according to him, “ owes the likes of Oby Ezekwesili and her collagues in the Bring Back Our Girls campaign a lot,’ for the role they played in campaigning for the release of the girls.
“We should also appreciate the likes of Michel Obama and former British Prime Minister David Cameron for their efforts too,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of United Progressive party, Chief Chekwas Okorie described the release of the girls as a good development and reassuring to both the parents and the entire citizens of the country.
His words:” Whatever deal the government entered into that yielded the result should be sustained. The Federal Government should do everything possible to rehabilitate the rescued girls. They should be re-orientated to lead a normal life again. Their education should also not be ignored. They should be given a comprehensive scholarship.”
Former military administrator of Bayelsa State, Col Edor Obi (Rtd) said: “It is commendable and reassuring. It also gives hope to the other parents. We should do everything possible to sustain the momentum. Whatever the government has done to free these ones should be intensified to free the other ones. The girls have been traumatized. The government should get experts to help them because they have suffered so much. The Federal Government should assist them to go back to school.”
Former Lagos State Police Commissioner Alhaji Abubakar Tsav said: “After taking care of them medically, the government should take them outside their environment for them to continue their studies. This is to avoid any form of stigmatisation that could affect their recovery.”
The youth wings of Arewa Consultative Forum and Ohanaeze Ndigbo similarly eulogized the Buhari administration for the girls’ release.
Speaking by telephone, the President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Comrade Shetimma Yerima said: “We are happy that the girls are getting back to their parents. We look forward to the release of the other girls and want to use this opportunity to plead with the Federal Government to rehabilitate the girls holistically because they look haggard. They need to be totally assisted for them be reason normally.”