Seventy-two hours after the rescue of Amina Ali, one of the school girls kidnapped two years ago by the terror group, Boko Haram, there is a mixture of hope and fear in the Chibok community as parents of the remaining missing girls have become anxious about the fate of their daughters. Many of the parents are torn between happiness and sadness because they are not sure if their daughters would return alive or be declared dead at the end of the day.
A member of the Strategic Committee of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, Olatunji Olanrewaju, said that the return of the first girl has renewed hopes in the hearts of the parents of the Chibok girls, despite the news of the death of six girls under captivity.
“The mood among parents of the Chibok girls is a mixture of hope and apprehension.
The news of the rescue has re-fired hopes in these parents, hopes of seeing their daughters again. Even though they heard the news of the death of six of the girls, many parents know that the chances of their daughters being among the dead is slim because of the sheer number. It is really low; by the time you spread the risk across all of them, it will be like in the ratio of 10:100 and this has re- fired their hopes and expectations.
Their hope is now renewed that at least almost all the girls are still alive and held up in Sambisa Forest. Now they are looking up to the government to now go all out to rescue the remaining girls,” he said. Olanrewaju disclosed that the daily sit-out at the Unity Fountain, Abuja on Thursday was very exciting because of the news that one of the girls have been rescued after two years.
He described the return of Amina as a validation of all that the BBOG had stood for all the past months. “It has been mad excitement since the news was broken.
However, finding the girl is one thing, rehabilitating her is another thing. Two years in captivity and of continuous abuse is too horrifying to capture in words. You can now imagine what it would take to put that girl back in a proper shape mentally, physically and emotionally.
Right now, what we expect is for the government to create a ring around her; ensure that she is with her mother and siblings and move them as a family to somewhere for rehabilitation.
Another member of the BBOG , Mohammed Keana, also told Sunday Telegraph that the rescue of Amina has brought a big relief to the movement which has been seriously castigated for its campaigns demanding the release of the girls. The rescue of Amina, he said, has put paid to all the mockery members of the group had been subjected to over the last two months.
