[Huffpoo's World Post] What do you do after you brought your party’s control of government to a dramatic end? You become an international scold and blowhard, blaming the world’s problems on everyone else--who have no ability to solve any of them.In fact, has-beens and once-weres often are brought in as decorations for international gatherings, meant to add gravitas to the proceedings. A few years back I shared an elevator with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was speaking at Qatar’s Doha Forum. He said nothing of note either in private or public, but exuded the air of a man who still mattered.
It turns out he’s the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, which must be as superfluous a position as exists. People recognized the importance of schooling long before there was a UN. And there’s not much the global organization can do for a service that can only be delivered locally. Indeed, in poor countries schools tend to get worse the more the national government is involved. Inexpensive private schools often are the only hope for the most disadvantaged and marginalized people in the most impoverished and oppressed nations.
However, Brown unburdened himself in the Huffington Post, and the subject wasn’t education. Rather, he said we all are responsible for the depredations of Nigeria’s murderous Boko Haram. Really. "The World Should Be Ashamed of the Failure to #BringBackOurGirls," he titled his article.
It’s been more than two years since the group--which has attributes of both insurgency and terrorism--kidnapped 276 girls from the town of Chibok. Boko Haram is an Islamist-jihadist group; its name roughly means "Western education is forbidden." The militants kill moderate Muslims but typically target Christians, as in Chibok. They usually slaughter male students, but often capture girls for sex slaves, child wives, and suicide bombers. Despite promises from the Nigerian government, proffers of Western assistance, and a twitter campaign led by First Lady Michelle Obama, none of the girls have been rescued.