Nigerians Blasts GEJ Over Bring Back Goodluck Poster

Nigerians from all walks of life have taken a swipe at the President Goodluck Jonathan and his campaign team for the 2015 elections over the insensitivity in using the campaign slogan #BringBackGoodluck2015, a slogan that is perceived to be a mockery of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which is being used by human rights activists campaigning for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls who have been in the captivity of the Boko Haram sect since April.

The presidential campaigners released the banner few weeks ago and it has drawn the wrath of Nigerian both at home and in the Diaspora, with many seeing the President and his minders as being callous, insensitive and cruel to the plight of the poor girls and their parents.

Even the respected US based newspaper, Washington Post, did an article on the campaign poster, describing it as wrong, condemning the insensitivity of the current administration towards the plight of the Chibok girls, saying the campaign slogan was inappropriate.

This may be the most inappropriate political hashtag of the year.

It was the social media campaign of the year. #BringBackOurGirls awoke the world to the ravages of Boko Haram, an al-Qaeda-linked terror group in Nigeria, and the plight of the millions of people who live in the midst of their insurgency.

At the heart of the message were hundreds of missing school girls, abducted in April from the remote village of Chibok by Boko Haram fighters, who vowed to make them into slaves.

The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag channeled both sympathy from abroad and local outrage and concern in Nigeria, with many angry at the government of President Goodluck Jonathan for being unable to free the captured women.

But four months later, the girls have yet to be brought back despite the efforts of the Nigerian military as well as U.S. counter-terrorism forces deployed in neighboring Chad. More than 200 girls remain missing in suspected Boko Haram captivity. Others have perished from snakebite, illness and deprivation in the wild.

But the gravity of the moment hasn’t stopped some in Nigeria from appropriating the tragic hashtag for rather cynical purposes. Banners emerged in the capital Abuja over the weekend showing Jonathan alongside a new slogan: #BringBackGoodluck2015.

The campaign appears to be the work of supporters of the president, keen for his reelection in presidential polls next February. It’s not clear whether Jonathan has officially endorsed the new hashtag, but its seeming ubiquity suggests that he is not opposed to it.

Nigerians too are not happy with the slogan and has condemned the president and his campaign team severely.

Pulse.ng spoke to some Nigerians and they actually voiced their resentment over the slogan.

This is the most insensitive slogan anyone can ever think of. It is a mockery of the efforts at rescuing the kidnapped Chibok girls and should be condemned by all. How could anyone think of using such a slogan when the girls are still in captivity and their parents still in agony? It is wicked. - Idongesit Okon.

For me, the proponents of the slogan needs their heads checked. No right thinking person should do such a thing while Nigerians still keep vigil for the poor girls. They need their heads checked. - Don Patrick.

No one can ever tell me that President Goodluck Jonathan is not aware of the campaign posters and the slogan. It is very bad and that shows the kind of president we have. - Osadolor.

It is sick and stupid. - Martin Otuaghan.