Members of the Northern elite are doing everything to ensure that i remain silent on burning national issues - SANUSI

of the Northern elite are doing everything to ensure that i remain silent on burning national issues.

Making this known, the Emir Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, in his speach during the Inaugural Annual Chibok Girls Lecture as part of activities to mark the third anniversary of the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok Government Girls Secondary School by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno state, argued that his decision to stay away from event came sequel to what he termed the sharp criticisms he had received from northern leaders sequel to his statement of last week wherein he condemned them for being responsible for many  social maladies of the North.

Represented by his daughter, Shahida Sanusi, the monarch said: “Our colleagues and compatriots among the elite do not like statistics. Numbers are disturbing. 

"I recently gave a speech in which I said the North-East and North-West of Nigeria are the poorest parts of the country. 

"This simple statement of fact has generated so much heat, the noise has yet to die down.

“The response to this speech has been a barrage of personal attacks and insults aimed at silencing any voices that dare shine the light on the society to which we are saying Bring Back our Girls.

“There are those who believe these attacks are aimed at discrediting me personally but even if that is the objective, it will not work. 

"I can only be discredited by what I have done and not by insults and lies on the social media. And in any event, personal criticism has no impact on the issues.

“As we remember the girls captured in Chibok three years ago, we must remember that they constitute only a fraction of the victims of this insurgency.

“I would urge BBOG, while you keep this issue of Chibok on the table, to broaden your message to cover all girls and boys abducted by Boko Haram, and also draw attention to the condition of girls and women in our society in general.

“To give you an idea of the extent of this problem, as of today, in Dalori 2 IDP camp near Maiduguri alone, there are over 1,500 BH-abducted girls who are either pregnant or carrying babies, who have been freed by the military.

“Hundreds of orphaned children are being carried away to unknown destinations and they are all gone into oblivion due to society’s neglect. 

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"It is therefore critical, for the BBOG to gain much broader support in the populace and be more effective, to use the dramatic case of the Chibok girls as a reference and a plank, but not the exclusive focus of its struggle.”