The announcement by the federal government that they have reached an agreement with the dreaded Boko Haram sect to ceasefire has been trailed with a lot of controversy.
It was announced on Friday that Boko Haram had agreed to ceasefire for peace sake and also release over 200 Chibok schoolgirls in its captivity.
According to a report by Premium Times, for various reasons, most Borno residents are not very convinced about the ceasefire deal.
The principal of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, where the girls were kidnapped on April 14 by Boko Haram, Asabe Kwambura expressed doubts over the ceasefire deal saying: “Many of us are still forced to doubt government, because we thought since our last meeting with the president in Abuja, these girls would have since been rescued and reunited with their parents.”
She added that if the news of the ceasefire is true, it would gladden her heart and she would be
“But all this will not be possible if the federal government does not follow this declaration with action, honesty and sincerity.
“We need to have these girls back; this is another opportunity for us to do so,” Asabe said.
Also speaking on the matter, the coordinator of Peace Ambassadors in Borno State, Ahmed Shehu, said his concern about the ceasefire was with the timing of the announcement.
He said: “the timing for the cease-fire is suspicious. Why now; why would they wait for the four African countries to step up the fight before they announce a ceasefire; why would they wait until their capacity and strength be weakened before they announce a ceasefire? For me, there is more to it than meet the eye. It’s suspicious, and I don’t want to sound as a pessimist; (but) it is ill timed and it’s not feasible”.
He added that it would be very difficult for people and humanity to forgive Boko Haram and allow them back into the society just like that, after all the havoc they have committed.
In his reaction, Abu Ismail, a civil servant, asked what would happen to the insurgents after the ceasefire and possible release of the Chibok girls.
“Are we supposed to pat them on the back and say well done for shedding the blood of all these innocent Nigerians and thank you for helping us to kidnap our school girls for six months, causing their parents to die of trauma and then releasing them now,” he said.
Lending their voice on the issue, some security personnel in Borno expressed doubt about the ceasefire.
A top security official in Maiduguri who pleaded anonymity, said, “We are in the dark about this whole issue; how could it be possible that we on ground in the frontline don’t know anything about this ceasefire issue, only to wake up one morning to hear about it?”
Since the news of the ceasefire broke, the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima whose state has been the most affected by Boko Haram activities has refused to comment on the issue.
Reacting to the ceasefire, Mr. Shettima, who spoke through his spokesperson, Isa Gusau, said he had “no comment for now” and “would speak at an appropriate time.”
Borno, which is the major base of the sect, has witnessed the death of thousands of residents while hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes, with several property destroyed.
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