This is from Murtala Mohammed Foundation (MMF) on the last Saturday, May 23 Bring back Our Girls campaign held in Lagos. The inspiring speech of Prof Mojubaola Funke Okome, Professor of Political Science, African and Women Studies Brooklyn College CUNY (Prof. #BringBackOurGirlsNYC). The sit-out programme at the Waterfront Marina, Lagos, right under rain, reminiscent of when we began the campaign and reminding us that the seasons have come full circle and our girls are yet to be found.
Please Read excerpt from the speech and download the inspiring speech, ” The Chibok Girls and the Nigerian Democracy”.
“The President elect and Vice President elect expressed resolve to rescue the Chibok girls, and bring Boko Haram to heel in Nigeria’s tormented Northeast. I believe them. I also promise to keep reminding them of this commitment until all our abducted fellow citizens are rescued and there is peace in this country”.
“Inequality is a huge challenge to our democracy, and a most steady contributor to the Nigerian predicament. As long as we have a huge divide between the haves and the have-nots, andan indifference by the wealthy toward the plight of the poor, the resentment and anger that gives Boko Haram a ready army of foot-soldiers to carry out its horrendous agenda would continue.”
”Democracy is not a spectator sport. The Bring Back Our Girls movement has demonstrated this clearly. Gathering peacefully with like-minded people to bring attention to this cause and calling upon the government of Nigeria to fulfill its constitutional mandate to protect all Nigerians and offer them security in their lives and property is an exercise of freedom of assembly and freedom of association. Asking the government to inform citizens of what it is doing to find and rescue our abducted fellow citizens and how it is doing it is a call for accountability and transparency. Insisting on the exercise of these rights is a call for the rule of law. There is no question that standing up for a cause like this constitutes democracy in action.”
