President
Goodluck Jonathan’s perceived mishandling of the case of the more than 200
school girls abducted by Boko Haram in Borno State got further knocks yesterday in South
Africa.
Crowd at the
inauguration of President Jacob Zuma for a second term in office registered
their disapproval of government’s
inability to rescue the
girls one month after,
with boos of “Bring back our girls”
directed at President Jonathan as
he stepped into the venue of the
swearing in.
By his side
was the First Lady, Patience.
And for a
moment, Nigeria became the issue at the Union Buildings, Pretoria, where the
late Nelson Mandela who became South Africa’s first black president, took the
oath of office 20 years ago in a ceremony officially ending white minority
rule.
President Jonathan
was one of the more than 20 heads
of state gathered for the event.
Aside the
shouts of “Bring back our girls” a non-governmental organisation – The
Concerned Young People of SA (Cypsa) – handed out pamphlets at yesterday’s
ceremony calling for the release of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
The
pamphlets were entitled Umphakathi Ukhathazekile (The society is concerned).
“Now
Nigeria. Who’s next? “, read a message on the pamphlet.
“Where can
we hide our girls from Boko [Haram]?” read another excerpt on the pamphlet.
President
Jonathan was due to hold talks last night
with other African leaders in Pretoria
on the security situation in Nigeria.
Spokesman
for the South African Government Clayson Monyela said the African leaders would
meet to discuss security in Nigeria.
The talks
follow a spate of attacks in Nigeria, which is under growing international
pressure to tackle the increasingly bloody uprising.
Earlier in
the week, President Yoweri Musoveni of Uganda had expressed disappointment at
the failure of the Nigerian government
and the army to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
Museveni, a
former guerrilla leader said it was
inconceivable that he would seek foreign help to protect Ugandans.
“I have
never called the United Nations to guard your security. Me, Yoweri Museveni to
say that I have failed to protect my people and I call in the UN….I would
rather hang myself,” Museveni was quoted as saying by the pro-government New
Vision newspaper.
He added:
“We prioritized national security by developing a strong army otherwise our
Uganda would be like DRC, South Sudan, Somalia or Nigeria where militias have
disappeared with school children.
“It would be
a vote of no confidence to our country and citizens if we can’t guarantee our
security, what kind of persons would we be?” he told supporters at a campaign
rally.
Post a Comment