‘Boko Haram Girls’: Ezekwesili, others tackle Time magazine

Former Vice President of African Region, the World Bank, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, on Tuesday, led the condemnation of the Time magazine for referring to abducted Chibok female students as “Boko Haram Girls”. The Time had included the Chikbok girls on its famous ‘Person of the Year’ nomination list, with winner expected to emerge at the end of voting which lasts till December 6. While the magazine has been commended for recognising the trauma the female captives have passed through in the past 226 days, it has come under attack for what is called its indiscretion in tagging the girls. Ezekwesili took to Twitter to share her disappointment at the tagging, which she considered insensitive. “Our 219 daughters can never be ‘Boko Haram Girls’. Never! They belong to their parents who are awaiting them,” she tweeted. She commended the magazine for the nomination but warned against calling the victims “Boko Haram Girls.” The former presidential aide called on concerned stakeholders to team up for the rescue of the girls to end the embarrassment their abduction has caused the country. “The girls must be rescued alive now”, she charged. She also urged the Federal Government to “give them justice”, which they deserve as Nigerians and members of the society. Earlier, the former World Bank chief said Boko Haram might have kept the girls for over 200 days but they did not belong to the terrorists, as they would be rescued and handed over to the parents. Also on his Twitter handle, Aminu Gamawa, a social activist, lambasted the magazine for the misrepresentation, stressing that the girls were victims and not terrorists as portrayed by the Time. An enraged Molade Alawode, who commented on the platform, said the action called to question the competence of editors of the US-based publication, while another, Agnes, said everything legally possible should be done to stop the “insensitive labeling”. IyKay, another online commentator, noted the Time’s reference to the girls as “Boko Haram Girls” should be considered as a wake-up call. He said the fight to rescue the girls should be reactivated. A woman rights activist, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, had also noted on the 224th day remembrance of the girls, that the country’s political activities were overshadowing the campaign for the girls’ rescue. She lamented, via a tweet, that Nigerians were carried away by “political declarations” while the girls were still held captive. Despite the rising public outcry, the Time retained the controversial “Boko Haram Girls” on the voting list as of 5pm on Tuesday. On the list posted on the webpage are Barack Obama, the Ebola doctors and nurses, Vladimir Putin, Kim Kerdashian, Pope Francis, Malala Yousafzai, John Kerry and Narendra Modi. Others are Hilary Clinton, Kanye West, Elizabeth Waren, Bashir al-Assad and Laverne Cox. As of Tuesday evening, the Chibok girls were commanding 2.5 per cent of the total votes in a poll led by Narendra Modi’s 13 score. Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan, according to a tweet by his media spokesman, Reuben Abati, said neighbouring West African countries must cooperate to end the war against terrorism. He said Chad, Niger, Cameroun and Nigeria were so intertwined that members of Boko Haram required little effort to move from one territory into another. “If the countries do not cooperate, we will not find it easy to win the war because when the heat is strong in one country, the terrorists will go to another one to hide,” the President reportedly said. Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace in N’Djamena after a closed-door meeting with is Chadian counterpart, President Idris Itno, Jonathan said Boko Haram had much external influence from outside Africa and that it had become important for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across the borders.