Kofi Annan: Africa should have reacted faster to Nigeria girls abduction

The Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said Africa has been too slow in responding to Boko Haram’s abduction of 230 schoolgirls at Chibok in Nigeria.

“I think the reaction of Africa should have been faster,” Annan told the BBC in an interview.

He said the Continent “should have come out condemning this very actively.”

Mr. Annan also said the Nigerian government’s opaqueness with information on the abduction hasn’t helped matters.

“I also believe that the Nigerian Government should have shared a bit more with its own population. And I believe now it is very clear that all security forces should be used to try to free these girls and I would hope they would also work to gain the confidence of the people so that they would also work with the Police….”

According to Annan, keeping the people in the dark would hurt efforts to locate the girls.

“If the People are alienated from the security forces, they are not going to get any help from them,” he said.

He also applauded international search efforts for the girls. “I’m grateful that the US, UK and others have offered help. You need to work across international borders to be able to contain terrorists and deny them their opportunities.”