Rescue Of Girls Ignites Islamic Rampage "Six churches gutted after recovery of Christian teenagers from Muslim kidnappers." NINGI, Nigeria, May 19 (Compass Direct News) – Islamists under the auspices of a paramilitary force last week destroyed six churches to protest a police rescue of two teenage Christian girls kidnapped by Muslims in this Bauchi state town.
This story was the top Nigerian news on the Vine since it broke on the 19th, today the 22nd May 2008, finding the sources has proved impossible. Can anyone shed more light? Is it credible? Who are the people featured here? Is there an Emir of Ningi? Who is Alhaji Muhammadu Yunusa Danyaya? The story:
“The teenage daughter of Mrs. Joseph was converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man,” he said. “Up to this moment I am speaking to you, we have not been able to rescue this girl from these Muslims.”
An indictment on law enforcement, no doubt, but Nigerian media that has gone online only to be covered with ads that nobody cares for is poor. Nigeria - where the truth is hard to find was a BBC news feature following a plane crash that nobody knew the truth about.
So why is it so hard to get information in Nigeria? No one person ever seems to be in overall control, or to have the whole picture. Press officers seemed to believe that Nigerians do not have a right to information or do not even know about the issues. Why is it that when there is someone willing to give an account of events, it is often to push their own agenda?
Information is power and if a distorted Chinese whisper form is the norm in the age of facebook, Nigeria will regress further. Media manipulation and inadequate infrastructure are huge problems for a developing country but here is a question. Why do the Nigeria media and the governments pay each other coutersy visits?
Why is this story important? One of the most popular eco-destinations in West Africa, theYankari National Park is in Bauchi State! And, of course its website is... What website?
May 2008