From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Emotions were high on Monday in Chibok, the Borno town that was the site of the abduction of 276 schoolgirls seven years ago, with the state government reopening the secondary school.
Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Tallen, while reopening the Government Secondary School on Monday said the event indicates an improvement in the security situation in the area.
‘The last time I visited here (Chibok) in November 2020, we couldn’t stay long due to the security challenge and mood of the people. Today, the large people here shows there is an improvement,’ she said.
The minister appealed to the people to keep their love for education alive. She said the education of the girl child was an asset not only to the family but also to the entire community.
She commended the Borno State Government for the remodelling and renovation of the school.
Borno Governor Babagana Zulum said the abduction of the Chibok girls seven years ago and various attacks on the education institutions would not deter the state government from investing in and improving the sector.
‘Education remains the bedrock of development in any society. This administration under my watch will not be deterred by any attempt to draw us back,’ he said.
He said the government would explore all potentials for the release of the Chibok girls He asked the people to intensify prayers.
School principal Hajiya Asabe Kowbla recalled that 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram on the night of April 14, 2014.
She said 57 girls escaped days after the attack, while 104 were rescued, leaving 115 schoolgirls still in the hands of the insurgents.
She commended the Borno State Govenor for accepting to remodel and renovate the school after a failed attempt by the Federal Government through the Save the school initiative in 2015.
The school, she said, has been renamed “Government Secondary School Chibok” and no longer the all-female boarding “Government Girls Secondary School” as it was before the abduction.