IF you have watched American epic film, ‘The hard way, the
only way,’ you will most likely appreciate the deadly attempt
by four young girls to foil a plot by Abubakar Shekau’s Boko
Haram to intimidate a multi-religious nation into submission
to its desire to implement the Abuja Declaration.
What is referred to as Abuja Declaration is the communique of
a meeting of Islam in Africa Conference which was hosted in
Nigeria on November 28, 1989 and it reads: “To eradicate in
all its forms and ramifications all non-Muslim religions in
member-nations (such religions shall include Christianity,
Ahmadiyya and other tribal modes of worship unacceptable to
Muslims”. The said meeting also resolved that the permanent
headquarters of the Islam in Africa Organisation shall be
inAbuja.
Boko Harâm (usually translated as “Western education is a
sin”), a militant Islamist organization based in north eastern
Nigeria and influenced by the Wahhabi movement, was
established by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002 essentially to
promote the ideals of Islam in Africa, i.e. to establish an
Islamic state in Nigeria.
‘The hard way’
Protected by his band of mercenaries, Pinheiro, Bolivia’s
toughest drug dealer, rules the ‘golden triangle’ between Brazil
and Columbia by terror and torture. Fear of the deadly
consequences make his extradition to the U.S. impossible. But
the Washington Narcotics Bureau is determined to make him
pay for his crimes. Kidnap is the only answer. And
Washington’s Colonel Bacall knows there are only three men
alive with the courage to tackle such a dangerous mission!
Bull, a special agent with the Narcotics Bureau, Karl and Pablo
set out for the Amazon jungle with a plan to lure the wolf from
his lair. But betrayal by one of their own number turns a
kidnapping plot into a bitter and bloody battle for survival!
Trapped in the steaming rainforest – governed only by the law
of the jungle. Hunted on the ground by ruthless mercenaries
and killer dogs. And from the air by Pinheiro’s henchman,
Wesson. The only way out is the hard way! Will the three
government men outwit their pursuers and reach the ‘Mission
de la Serra’? To take Pinheiro captive and unmask the traitors.
Follow the trail of death and destruction in a world where only
the strong survive! The film directed by Michael E. Lemick
features Miles O’Keefe and Henry Silva.
The Chibok affair
Before Monday, April 14 and Tuesday, April 15, 2014, when
about 300 female students were kidnapped from their
Government Secondary School hostel in the town of Chibok,
Borno State, very little was known about the Christian
community. The kidnappings were claimed by Boko Haram.
Although some of the girls escaped, more than 200 female
students are still missing. The Islamic group said it wants to
sell the girls. The Nigerian government has been heavily
criticised for failing to protect the population and end Boko
Haram terrorist actions.
In the absence of a coordinated official figures, reports
indicate that out of the initial number of girls in the hostel on
fateful night, eight girls escaped from the kidnappers and have
since been reconciled with their parents. Sunday Vanguard
met with four of the escapee girls whose heroic accounts are
recorded below.
First is Saratu Isa, 19, who wants to become a teacher some
day. Narrating her story, she told Sunday Vanguard that after
their SSCE papers on the fateful day, they retired to their
hostel to rest and prepare for the next day’s papers.
In the night, they slept. She woke sometime later. She also
woke up her friend, Comfort Ayuba (born on March 28, 1997),
and asked her if she heard the rumour that Boko Haram was
about to invade the school. The friend said it was a lie, yet
they attempted to locate a safe corner within the hostel to use
as hideout if the Islamic terrorists eventually entered the
school.
But before they could secure a hideout, they started hearing
barking orders to other girls in the hostel. “The claim of people
saying that the jihadists came to the school with so many
vehicles is not true. No! Their vehicles were packed far away
inside the bush. They came in and told us they had come to
protect us from an impending danger, since there was no
security in the school and immediately they started
assembling us in a single file and marching us to the bush.”
It was at that point that some of the girls started having
hunches but it was too late to do anything because the
invaders, armed to the teeth and dressed in army uniform,
were barking orders that any girl who attempted to play
games would be killed and it was obvious that they were not
joking.
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