[by:¿É¿ÉÓ¢Óï¡«m.moreplr.com]
[00:00.14] And we take a close look now at the situation, with Carl LeVan, an assistant professor at's American University School of International Service,
[00:07.35] and Mojubaolu Okome, a professor of African and women's studies at Brooklyn College.
[00:13.16] And let me start with you, Professor Okome.
[00:14.53] What can you tell us about the strong feeling about this inside Nigeria?
[00:19.42] And who is it aimed at, the president, the military, the system as a whole?
[00:24.29] Many parents are distressed because, if this happens to somebody's child, it affects everybody who is a parent because of the potential that things can spiral out of control.
[00:37.09] Besides, it's important for the girls to be united with their families.
[00:43.33] And this situation has dragged on now into three weeks.
[00:47.45] And there's absolutely no cohesive information.
[00:51.44] The distrust that people are feeling and a lot of the criticisms are directed against the system as a whole.
[01:01.12] Well, Carl LeVan, let me ask you about that system, just to frame it for people, context here,
[01:06.22] sectarian violence going on at the same time as the country is still in a transition to democracy.
[01:12.00] The transition has been longer and perhaps more painful than I think many Nigerians expected.
[01:18.03] The country transitioned in May 1999, after almost 17 long years of dictatorship.
[01:24.14] And there have been several elections since then, most recently in 2011.
[01:28.55] And the most recent election went pretty well, but the country's also had to overcome some really difficult challenges along the way.
[01:36.57] Just a few years ago, there was a very serious rebellion in the oil producing region, the Niger Delta,
[01:43.17] and now, for the last several years, the country has faced this rebellion in the Northeast by this group Boko Haram.
[01:49.34] And how much do the ª what we hear about schisms between north and south, how much ª or any of what you just described ª how much does that play into the willingness or ability of the government to go and find these girls,
[02:01.33] to take more action?
[02:03.30] Well, politicians certainly like to portray themselves and like to campaign on a national platform.
[02:12.10] And I think that's certainly what the Nigerian citizens expect.
[02:15.52] But the truth is that the historical divide and the cultural divide is one that the country is still grappling with.
[02:22.33] Nigeria is in fact exactly 100 years old this year.
[02:26.19] And over the last year or two, there were a lot of commentary in the newspapers, for example, about the so called mistake of 1914.
[02:32.55] Having said that, I think many Nigerians are very hopeful about the future and they would like to see their government invest a little bit more in that hope.
[02:43.15] Professor Okome, what about the strange juxtaposition we have seen just in the last day where you have the president saying he is going to do everything possible,
[02:51.45] and that is after not saying much publicly for a while, and then the first lady reportedly questioning the whole kidnapping?
[02:59.25] What is going on?
[03:02.10] I think the Goodluck Jonathan administration would be able to explain better what's going on.
[03:10.16] But just judging from what I was able to read in the media, if what I am reading is true,
[03:44.24] then it's indicative of the fact that the government itself needs to learn that it has to have a cohesive message.
[04:25.54] It has to have a unified approach.
[04:33.49] It has to give confidence to the Nigerian people that these missing children are uppermost in its mind,
[04:46.07] and that it's going to do everything in its power to bring them back to their families.
[04:56.37] Besides, if it's saying that it wants to do this, and then people are being arrested because they are raising attention,
[05:17.24] they are calling attention to the situation, then it's sending a very bad message.
[05:25.03] And the government needs to do everything that it can to correct this immediately and restore confidence in Nigerian people that their security matters to it,
[05:44.57] and that it's going to truly do everything in its power to bring the girls back to their families.
[05:56.49] Well, Carl LeVan, this has clearly taken on international dimensions now.
[06:04.07] So, is it affecting how people, how the outside world sees Nigeria, and what if anything can the U.S. and other outside nations do at this point?