Richard Templar is a very fascinating writer. As a professional writer

myself, operating from Nigeria, one of the most treacherous human

habitations in the world, I am always looking for fresh ideas

documented in beautifully written books, not just because of my

inclination for aesthetics but also because of my undying admiration

of logical reasoning.

You can’t afford to embark on a search for the aesthetics and the most

precious gifts that the uncreated Creator-God has endowed the World

with if you are a logically minded writer who is born, bred and

co-exists in the chaotic space called Nigeria.

And so it was that in April, I found myself deeply involved in the

intensive search for some great books to pick up during a pre-planned

visit to one of the biggest outlets for great books in Central London

– during one of my necessary holidays to stay away from the functional

disorder which Nigeria has become – to take a breath of fresh air for

some few days before returning to our familiar lawless society to try

to make the chaotic space a livable one.

I came face-to-face with some beautifully designed books. I

particularly had a deep communion with a certain copy printed in my

best admired colour: blue, given my penchant for Chelsea Football Club

of London.

Incidentally, a night before, I was at the Stamford Bridge stadium,

somewhere in South-west London, to witness a competitive match between

my beloved team Chelsea and another elite premiership club side, which

ended in favour of Chelsea.

It was, indeed, with a sense of satisfaction that I approached this

book, entitled The Rules of People, written by Richard Templar.

I wasted less than two seconds to make up my mind to pick up two

copies – one for myself and another for Ugochi, my beautiful wife, who

loves reading books as well. Our marriage is like an author marrying

his editor. That is a romantic story for another day. Today is about

my odyssey in a London bookshop, which berthed the idea behind this

reflection on two youngsters from two distinctive nations who

disappeared and are still being sought.

As I flipped open the book, the first thing I saw was a philosophical

quotation: “The only solution that works is to change the hole,

because a square peg will always be a square peg.”

I instantly fell in love with this saying, because there were two

issues I was battling to untangle: The raging debates on the best deal

for Britain regarding the referendum the voters passed to exit the

European Union, known as Brexit, which at the material time I

encountered this magisterial book was about to end the illustrious

political career of Britain’s second female premier in history. (The

first was Margaret Thatcher and the one I'm referring to as regards

Brexit is Theresa May.)

The second issue was the inability of Nigerian government headed by

President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue the teenage Miss Leah Sharibu,

the only Christian girl abducted alongside 133 others, who were later

released by their captors: Islamist Boko Haram terrorists.

As we were told by one of her freed school mates at Dapchi Government

School in Yobe State, Leah had refused to denounce her Christian

faith. Her captors reached an agreement with the Nigerian government

to keep her, while her Muslim fellow students were released.

The issue of Leah Sharibu to me becomes even more intriguing when I

also read in the British media about a little girl by name Madeleine

McCann, who was kidnapped when she was four while holidaying with her

parents in Portugal. Ironically, I was also holidaying in London about

the same material time that this little girl was stolen from her

Parents in Portugal. The good thing is that Great Britain has for a

decade continued to budget huge cash to search for her whereabouts.

When compared with the secrecy surrounding the so-called effort being

made to release the young Christian girl kidnapped by Boko Haram

terrorists, one is left to accept the logic and the reason behind the

saying in the earlier quoted book regarding how best to reach a

solution: “The only solution that works is to change the hole, because

a square peg will always be a square peg.”

As you read this, you may be asking the question about whom this

little British girl is and why so much public fund has been expended

searching for her by the government of her country, even when she went

missing in another nation in company of her parents.

This is unlike in Nigeria, where the failure of government to provide

water-tight security culminated in the mass abduction of Leah and her

long-released Muslim school mates.

Leah was kidnapped many years after nearly 250 girls were similarly

kidnapped in Chibok in Borno State, thereby placing the fault straight

at the security agencies, for failing the primary duty of care and

protection, which the constitution imposed on them as a primary duty

of government.

According to a report in The Sun newspaper of UK, since disappearing

on the evening of May 3, 2007, no one has been able to find her or

conclusively prove she is either dead or alive.

As of 2016, over 8,000 potential sightings have been recorded in 101

different countries and territories, but nearly all of them have been

dropped as leads.

But now, a new docu-series about her disappearance claims Madeleine is

still alive and her case will be solved.

Jim Gamble, the top child protection cop in the UK’s first Maddie

investigation, says: “I absolutely believe that in my lifetime we

will find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann.

“There’s huge hope to be had with the advances in technology. Year on

year, DNA is getting better. Year on year, other techniques, including

facial recognition, are getting better.

“And as we use that technology to revisit and review that which we

captured in the past, there’s the likelihood that something we already

know will slip into position.”

The documentary also claims Madeleine is likely to have been kept

alive by child traffickers because, as a middle-class British girl,

she is more financially valuable.

British media reports that Madeleine McCann was born May 12, 2003, and

went missing a little more than a week before her fourth birthday.

Since her disappearance from the Ocean Club apartment, a former top

cop has warned that security at the resort, where the little girl went

missing, is still an issue, so says the media reports.

Today, we read a report that the Home Office has agreed to give

£300,000 for the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine

McCann. The search for Maddie, who was three years old when she

vanished while on holiday with her parents, has cost £11,750,000 so

far. If you convert that to our naira and kobo, you would realise

that that is a year-long budget for 12 police commands put together in

Nigeria.

Reports had it that funding was previously reported to have run out,

but the Home Office has now agreed to fund the hunt until March next

year.

Conversely, it was stated that an application was made by the Met

Police for another £300,000 to keep the investigation going throughout

2019/20.

“On Wednesday, the Home Office said that while a final decision on

figures would not be made until October, it had reassured force chiefs

that a ‘similar’ level of funding would be granted for this year as in

2018/19, when £300,000 was given,” reported British media.

The Home Office noted: “We have received a request from the MPS to

extend funding for Operation Grange, until March 31, 2020. Funding for

the investigation is provided by the Home Office through Special Grant

funding, which is usually available to police forces when they face

significant or exceptional costs.

“All applications for Special Grant funding are considered carefully

on their individual merits. However, decisions are made in batches to

allow us to better consider the impact on the overall policing budget.

Due to this, the next round of Special Grant funding will not be

decided until October. However, we have written to Deputy Mayor for

Policing and Crime in the meantime with assurance that the

Metropolitan Police Service will receive a similar level of funding

for Operation Grange for 2019/20, as it did for the previous year.”

This is a country that places the highest premium on the wellbeing of

their citizens, and the police is efficient, and effectively taking

charge. In Nigeria, there are contradictions and conflicts of

interests among rival security outfits; and there is no consensus on

the strategic engagements of these security agencies on how to jointly

coordinate the search for Leah Sharibu and hundreds of other hostages

of Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.

In Yobe State, where Leah comes from, 77.4 per cent of girls are not

in secondary school. That figure is the third highest in the

North-east region and the fifth highest among the 10 northern states

covered in the report, according to an analyst who recently authored

an article to demand the rescue of the abducted school girl.

“The abductions illustrate that Boko Haram remains a menace to

swathes of North-east Nigeria,” the International Crisis Group said in

a report published in April.

“The kidnappings cast a pall over education, particularly of girls,

and thus the prospects for socio-economic development of the region.”

This is even as President Buhari last October reportedly spoke on

telephone with Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, mother of the Dapchi Secondary

schoolgirl, Leah.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity,

Garba Shehu, stated this in a statement made available to journalists

in Abuja. He said the President assured Mrs Sharibu that his

administration will do everything it would take to bring her daughter

back home, adding that the President consoled the Sharibu family and

assured the parents that the Federal Government would do its utmost

for the safety and security of their daughter.

“I convey my emotion, the strong commitment of my administration and

the solidarity of all Nigerians to you and your family as we will do

our best to bring your daughter home in peace and safety,” Buhari

reportedly told the distraught mother.

Mrs Sharibu and her husband, Nathan, had recently appealed to Buhari

to ensure the release of their daughter before the October deadline

given by the Boko Haram sect. Many months after, the girl is still in

captivity.

The difference between the British and the Nigerian scenarios is that

in Britain, government is very transparent, accountable and open

regarding the process and mechanisms it has adopted to search for

their young citizen that was kidnapped.

In Nigeria, the process and methods are muddled up and treated as

state secret. There is no clarity regarding why the government

initially left only the young Christian girl when it struck a deal

with the terrorists.

Section 14 (2) (b) of the Nigerian Constitution states in black and

white that: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the

primary purpose of government.”

Aristotle, the philosopher, stated: “The basis of a democratic state

is liberty. Law is order and good law is good order.”

The Nigerian Constitution is the supreme law, and so there is no

reason to explain the refusal of the government to transparently tell

Nigerians what effort it is making, if any, and how much it has spent

in trying to rescue Leah Sharibu and others in similar circumstances.

Section 22 of the Constitution supports media freedoms. Chapter four

of the constitution is all about the fundamental human rights,

including the freedom of expression, just as the Freedom of

Information Act mandates government to be open, transparent and

accountable to the people of Nigeria.

St Augustine of Hippo (354-430CE) gave us a quote, which is the most

appropriate way to end this reflection. He said: “If justice be taken

away, what are governments but great bands of robbers?"

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