On the 19th of February this year more than a hundred girls
were kidnapped from the Government Girls Science and Technology College
Five weeks later 105 girls were released, 5
had died in captivity and one girl was held back. The name of the girl held back is Leah
Sharibu, only 14 years old at the time, and her captors refused to release her
because she refused to convert to Islam.
 |
| *Leah Sharibu |
Eight months on and she is still being held
against her will with her captors threatening to execute her at any time: they
have already executed two Red Cross health workers kidnapped earlier this year.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister for Information
and Culture, has recently said that the government was doing everything within
their power to secure her release: but considering the ongoing Chibok girls
saga this can mean virtually nothing substantial is being done. Politicians
will always say one thing and do something else – or do nothing at all.
Hopefully she won’t be used as a political bargaining tool in the run-up to the
2019 elections.
For such a young girl to put her life on the
line for her faith I don’t see any of the so-called ‘Men-of-God’ in Nigeria
lining up to fight for her release – or even mention her( Pastor Adeboye only
mentioned her briefly in a sermon in March and that was it!). Is this because
they are too busy collecting tithes, faking miracles or pocketing backhanders
from politicians? Or are they too busy trying to win more souls to their
churches (- to pay more tithes!) they can afford to ignore the plight of one
deeply religious girl?
By refusing to convert to Islam and facing
an uncertain future, Leah has displayed more courage than most people. How many
people in her predicament would resist the urge to convert to Islam just to get
out of there? ( I know I would! I would convert fast, call myself ‘Mohammed’
and run like a mad-man as soon as they released me!). How many of our so-called
‘Men-of-God’ would be brave enough to hold on to their faith faced with such a
predicament? It’s one thing to hold a Bible and preach to a multitude and
another thing to be prepared to die for what you believe in.
Recently the kidnappers have issued a demand
for N100bn ransom for her release – a ludicrous amount – and her
family are busy running around trying to raise some money to appease her
captors. None of our over-paid, under-worked and ‘too-rich’ politicians have
stepped in to help. Neither have any of the so-called ‘Men-of-God’ either. It
would be good if our pastors, Defenders and Preachers of the Faith, dipped into
all the tithes they’ve been collecting from people all these years and find a
way to pay her ransom – and help her family financially: it would be the
Christian thing to do. Or are they waiting for her to become a martyr so they
can use her name to preach?
This poor girl must not be allowed to become
another statistic of the murderous Boko Haram campaign !
There are influential politicians out there
who can affect her release straight away but they are too busy buying up votes
ahead of the impending 2019 elections to do anything. There are top
‘Men-of-God’ out there who have the Presidents’ ear but instead of fighting for
her release they are only interested in engaging in photocalls to
further their own popularity .
Something needs to be done.
#FreeLeahSharibu.
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