The Government of
incumbent Goodluck Jonathan was emphatically swept aside as Nigeria recorded
the first loss of an incumbent government in its history.
One factor that led to
the change, was the Islamic Terrorist group Boko Haram. They’ve been causing
havoc in Nigeria for a while now, carrying out bombings, razing down villages,
kidnapping girls and women. The feeling of the populace was that the
government’s response to this crisis was lukewarm at best.
So the new President is
aware of the expectations on him in that regard. In an op-ed piece for the New
York Times, Gen Buhari pledges that his government’s response to the threat
would be more serious. He pledges to stop the group, although he says he can
make no promises that the abducted Chibok girls can be returned safe and sound.
“When Boko Haram
attacked a school in the town of Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria, kidnapping
more than 200 girls, on the night of April 14, 2014, the people of my country
were aghast. Across the world, millions of people joined them in asking: How
was it possible for this terrorist group to act with such impunity? It took
nearly two weeks before the government even commented on the crime.
This lack of reaction
was symptomatic of why the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was
swept aside last month — the first time an incumbent president has been
successfully voted out of office in the history of our nation. For too long
they ruled, not governed, and in doing so had become so focused on their own
self-interest and embroiled in corruption that the duty to react to the anguish
suffered by their citizens had become alien to them.
My administration,
which will take office on May 29, will act differently — indeed it is the very
reason we have been elected. This must begin with honesty as to whether the
Chibok girls can be rescued. Currently their whereabouts remain unknown. We do
not know the state of their health or welfare, or whether they are even still
together or alive. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find
them: to do so would be to offer unfounded hope, only to compound the grief if,
later, we find we cannot match such expectation.
But I say to every
parent, family member and friend of the children that my government will do
everything in its power to bring them home. What I can pledge, with absolute
certainty, is that from the first day of my administration, Boko Haram will
know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of
terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas”
