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Former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has described the rescue operation for the over 200 abducted schoolgirls by Boko Haram in Borno State by the federal government as something that should have come much earlier. This came as the Pakistani-born education activist, Malala Yousafzai, joined other world leaders in pressing for the release of the 200 schoolgirls abducted from Chibok
Speaking in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Annan, while describing the kidnap as "abominable," said: "It is something that should not be happening in modern-day Africa."
While maintaining that the federal government should do all it could to set the girls free, Annan expressed happiness "that the US, the UK, and other governments are teaming up with Nigeria to resolve this issue."
On her part, Yousafzai, the world’s most famous advocate for girls’ right to education, tells CNN's Amanpour that "girls in Nigeria are my sisters."
Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban in her native country in 2002.
The group targeted her because of our outspoken support for girls' education.
She said Boko Haram, which kidnapped nearly 300 girls in Nigeria, does not understand Islam.
"I think they haven’t studied Islam yet, they haven’t studied Quran yet, and they should go and they should learn Islam," she told Amanpour from Birmingham, in the UK, where she has been living and attending school.
"I think that they should think of these girls as their own sisters. How can one imprison his own sisters and treat them in such a bad way?"
In another interview with the British press, Yousafzai said: “These abducted girls are my sisters and I call on the international community and the government of Nigeria to take action and save my sisters.
“It should be our duty to speak up for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are in a difficult situation,” she said.
She added that the best tool to fight extremism was education, especially of girls “and that means ensuring that it is safe to study.
“The greatest threat to militancy in the long run comes not from drones but from girls with schoolbooks.”
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