TheCable

Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, says he believes the remaining Chibok schoolgirls will be rescued and reunited with their parents.

It has been seven years since 276 schoolgirls of Government Girls’ Secondary school (GGSS), Chibok, Borno state were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents.

The whereabouts of 112 of the girls have remained unknown.

Zulum, in a statement on Wednesday, said the mental torture of having a daughter in Boko Haram captivity is worse than losing a child.

The governor said he has had a number of interactions with President Muhammadu Buhari and he (Buhari) has not lost hope in securing the release of the girls.

According to him, the president said he has remained unhappy over the continued detention of the girls by the insurgents.

“As a father of daughters, I can’t even imagine the pains of having one’s daughter held by terrorists for as long as seven whole years,” Zulum said.

“Certainly, the mental torture of not knowing the fate of one’s daughter in the hands of Boko Haram is far worse than losing a child.
No parent can ever lose hope in a missing child and having that hope comes with so much pain of anxiety and depression.

“As a father of all sons and daughters of Borno, I haven’t lost hope that our remaining Chibok schoolgirls and other abducted persons will be safely recovered.

“From my series of interactions with the President, Commander in Chief, Muhammadu Buhari, I have seen in him that he is as concerned as the parents of the Chibok girls and all of us.

“Countless times, the President has shown me that he is not losing hope on the Chibok girls. He says to me although a number of our girls were reunited with their parents and are being catered for by the Federal Government, he is not happy until the remaining girls are freed.

“I believe the President and I urge everyone in Borno to sustain prayers for those girls and everyone in abduction to be safely freed, and for peace to be fully and permanently restored in Borno.”

The governor called on Nigerians to extend their empathy and support to the parents of the affected girls whom he said have “demonstrated faith and strength in the hope of reconnecting with their missing daughters”.