Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State has in recent times manifested a horrible trend towards crude partisanship, but no one expected him to descend to the level he did when he said Thursday’s return of some of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls was a sham intended to hoodwink Nigerians.
“Until proved otherwise, the story still appears like one of the diversionary tactics of the federal government,” Fayose was quoted as saying on Friday.
The unfortunate comment by the governor is another example of the pervasive lack of tact among Nigerian politicians, particularly in relation to opinions on sensitive national issues. It is such insensitivity that has helped to complicate the anti-insurgency war.
Fayose was at liberty to crosscheck the names and photographs of the 21 released girls against those of the over 200 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014, which are in the public domain, to satisfy his curiosity.
But he chose to insult the sensibilities of the released girls, their parents, and, indeed, the entire civilised humanity that reacted happily to the news of the girls’ return.
– Vincent Obia
