Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has urged Nigeria to persist until the last of the Chibok girls is reunited with their families.
In a series of tweets to mark the ninth anniversary of the kidnap of the girls by terrorists during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Atiku noted that the plight of the Chibok girls had become a metaphor for the general state of Nigeria in the past eight years.
He expressed pain and anguish for the parents and guardians who have been separated from their children for almost a decade.
He said: “The plight of the Chibok girls who have attained womanhood has become a metaphor for the Nigeria that has happened to the generality of our citizens in the last eight years short of a month.
“But as we remember and pray for them, never giving up on the infinite mercies of God for their miraculous freedom, let’s remember how the escaped girls are bracing the odds to send a clear message to their abductors and agents of retrogression: we shall conclude our pursuit of education. We must not give up until the last Chibok girl is rejoined with their family.”
Atiku also paid glowing tributes to Mary Katambi, the first of the escaped Chibok girls to graduate from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) with a degree in Accounting.
He acknowledged the 13 other students from the AUN’s New Foundation School who followed in her footsteps and were admitted into various courses in the university.
Atiku further noted that several other Chibok girls are pursuing their education in various institutions at home and abroad.
