Blood Money

I am very squeamish and hate to see people suffer whilst unable to do anything to alleviate the suffering,  I hate to see people in pain. I hate hospital visits except it’s to welcome a new baby or it is otherwise absolutely necessary. So maybe I am a coward. I have tried over these one hundred days  plus to sideline the issue of the Chibock girls, to avoid it, to pretend it’s not real, perhaps maybe just perhaps it’s not happening, maybe it’s not real, maybe it is my imagination, maybe it will just go away. All these thoughts while I continually say a quiet prayer in my heart for my sisters, my daughters, my mothers:  the Chibock girls. But this morning I was jolted once again by the ugly allegations going back and forth in the media about money being paid to the Chibock families by our President. Some say its N100m yet others say isN22m and of course the Presidency has issued a statement denying it ever ‘paid’ any amount to the families. I say if indeed money exchanged hands its is wrong, cruel and it debases all parties involved. For once, it is not about money, no amount of money can compensate for the tragic situation we find ourselves in, this is blood money and it is too little too late. Money could have helped much earlier to educate and liberate these people who now hold us all to ransom. Money could have helped much earlier to build good roads and infrastructure and provide basic security in chibock and environs to ensure that it never happened in the first place. Money could have helped earlier to ensure that these girls who were apparently writing High School Certificate examinations got proper education and are not semi illiterates unable to speak English language, the medium of our education. Money could have helped much more earlier indeed. Let me say, whoever attempts to get financial benefit off the tragedy of the Chibock girls has their blood on their hands. We hope and pray that these girls are not being sent out on suicide missions as the recent ones in Kano. We continue to pray and hope that these girls will come back to their families, although brutally bruised but alive. In the meantime let no one rub salt into this our collective gaping wound. For once, let us look beyond our own selfish ends and work together to bring home the girls.