Malala Urges FG To Expedite Action On Chibok Girls Rescue

Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old Pakistani girl who narrowly escaped being killed by the Taliban in her country for her girl-child education campaigns, yesterday, in Abuja, tasked the Federal Government to expedite action towards the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls.

She met the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners and five of the girls who had earlier escaped from their captors in the Sambisa forest in Borno State. Malala also spoke with their parents.

Now an international girl-child education activist, Malala told the Chibok girls to remain strong in the face of the attacks of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, raising their hopes saying the girls would triumph in the end.

According to her, after a long drawn battle with the Taliban, who earlier banned girls from going to school, peace had been restored in Pakistan's Swat Valley where she was almost killed, and all the girls had returned to school.

"My request to the government is that they should take you seriously. Yes this is the future generation of this country. If you don't focus on the future generation it means you are destroying your country.

"Think about these girls. Make sure that they are safe. Make sure that they are getting the quality education. Make sure that their parents are safe. Make sure they succeed. Make sure that the other girls that are still in abduction of Boko Haram, get released soon and we still have this campaign, we still say #BringBackOurGirls.

"The situation at Chibok is the same with the situation in Swat where some extremists stopped more than 400 girls from going to school.

"They killed many children. But people of Swat raised their voices, they spoke against this. They spoke for education. And their voices were more powerful than gun or any other weapon.

"And I believe your voices are more powerful than any other weapon. So believe in yourself and go and continue your journey.

"Continue learning and you will succeed because we did succeed in our journey. There is peace in Swat. Every girl is going to school. The same way, we will be here one day we will see all of you going to school, getting your education," Malala said.

The five girls she met with are Awa Alhlama, Hauwa Musa, Hauwa John, Kanna Bitrus and Rebecca Ishaku.

The girl-child education campaigner is expected to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa today.