The Leah Sharibu Saga Is A Farce

Leah Sharibu in latest photo

On 25^th January, news went round that the last of the Dapchi girls  who is still under Boko Haram captivity has embraced Islam and given birth to baby boy for a Boko Haram commander.

There is a lot of foul smell around this story.

Even though some speakers say the dreaded sect, Boko Haram, has existed since the twentieth century, most Nigerians and the world’s inhabitants only got to know about them in 2009. The group waxed strong, claimed territory, and developed the penchant for capturing women and girls. 

In April, Boko haram raided the town of Chibok in Borno state and kidnapped 276 school girls from their hostel. They came to be known as the ‘Chibok’ girls albeit 164 of them are said to have regained their freedom under obscure circumstances. 

Again on 19^th February 2018, Boko Haram went for their regular, this time, in the town of Dapchi in Yobe state taking 119 girls captive. They were quickly christened ‘The Dapchi girls’. On 21^st March, all of the Dapchi girls were released under yet another shady setting but one; Leah Sharibu. 

According to Boko Haram, Leah Sharibu has not been released because she has refused to embrace Islam. There are two theories as to why the Leah Sharibu saga has lingered on.

A. Leah Sharibu is dead and the Nigerian government and Boko Haram don’t want to admit it.

B. It is all a government conspiracy

From all that has transpired since 21^st march, theory B seems to carry more weight. Why?

1. Is Boko Haram stupid?

Is Boko Haram so stupid that they do not know that even if Leah Sharibu proclaims Islam under captivity she will go to church on the first church service after her release? Boko Haram once claimd that all of the Chibok girls had embraced Islam. What religion do they practice now? Christianity or the religion 'imposed on them' by terrorists? They are back singing the praises of Jesus in church. Why then insist on ‘embracing Islam’ as a condition?

More so, how religious and/or daft could Leah Sharibu be that at 16 she doesn’t know she can go back to singing praises to Jesus the moment she walks into her father’s house? It pushes one to think, maybe she has fallen in-love with life in a Boko haram camp and doesn’t miss her friends, family and school mates even one bit. Why then the noise?

2. Is Leah Sharibu Serious?

On 27^th August 2018, Boko Haram released an audio recording that reportedly contained the voice of Leah Sharibu. In summary, she was urging the government to comply with the terrorists and save her from captivity. Analysis of the audio revealed that she was reading from script. 

If I would be pushed by fear to read a script under duress, why should it be difficult to make one sentence (Proclamation of Islam) and gain my freedom?

Skeptics may ask, why would the government continue to sell a lie such as this one? The answer is not far-fetched.

Terrorism has become big business in the 21^st century. Government officials make fortunes from high budgetary allocations to defense sectors. How do you justify high allocations for defense if there are no ‘terror entities’ to point at? 

There has to be people in captivity so that whenever the masses ask the question, ‘why haven’t you raided the terrorist camps?’ the government can easily say ‘because we don’t want to endanger the lives of the captives’.

Terror groups also serve as hit squads. Whenever governments want to eliminate civilian threats from the shadows, it simply signals a ‘terror group’. Outspoken clerics, activists and opposition politicians have been killed in attacks claimed by terror groups. 

According to the Institute for Security Studies in 2018, over 18 outspoken Muslim clerics have been killed in attacks claimed by Boko Haram. 

On 28^th November 2014, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi III, an outspoken personality who is critical of the government, escaped an attack on a Mosque; 92 people were killed and over 150 others left with grave injuries. Boko Haram was heavily linked to the bombing.

In the last four years in Nigeria, N2.3 trillion has been spent on defense. A bulk of that money has obviously gone into private pockets, as can be observed, insecurity has remained endemic.

Conclusively, those who try to rack up religious sentiments need to calm their nerves because for all we know, Leah Sharibu could be chilling on a soft velvet coach eating pizza with kunun Aya and watching America’s Got Talent.