The #BringBackOurGirls campaign is fantastic in that it has raised awareness and stirred the international community in support of the efforts to locate the girls who were abducted in Chibok while in the midst of taking their exams. However I think it’s important also to appreciate the complexity of this incident and the issues involved in it- this incident which isn’t an isolated one with regard to the fight of extremist group against girls pursuing an education worldwide, but also with regard to issue of security, infrastructure and the fight against terrorism in Nigeria.
What happened in Chibok has really struck me at my core- imagining that something like this happened in my nation, contemplating the difficulties in finding the girls, imagining what their families are going through, but most importantly imagining what these girls have gone through- the terror at having realised just how much danger they were in and how unsafe they were in the hands of those who became responsible for their welfare.
But this issue is so much more complex than I believe it’s in danger of being made out to be. Understandably, due to the slow uptake from the international community, many people are just finding out about what happened in Chibok, nearly 4 weeks later. But it’s important, rather than just picking up the banner of ‘Bring back our Girls’ you take the time to read up on the developments and the circumstances surrounding the incident to properly understand what’s happened.
I thank God that the Nigerian Government has finally enlisted the help of the international community- because clearly very little progress was to be made without the help of US Marines, contrary to previous reports. However beating a dead horse yields no result- what I mean is if the cry to bring back our girls is kept up, without relevant and pertinent questions being asked, i.e.- how could this happen in the first place?/ What were the circumstances that allowed for the successful abduction of 234 HUMAN BEINGS?- then we are in danger of becoming ineffective and failing to learn from the mistakes in order to prevent events such as this from happening again.
I, like many others,was disgusted and outraged at how slowly the government was to react at all. But I see a lot of accusations directed at the government, which put undue blame on the government, because they allude to problems which actually are not the sole domain of the current federal administration. Key issues highlighted as a result of the abduction happened, such as security, seem to be overlooked.
They say prevention is better than cure: a continual cry to and condemnation of the government refers to the cure- i.e. finding the girls, however reference to deeper issues of security and infrastructure in Nigeria refer to the prevention of these types of occurrences from happening again. Yes, the education of the girl child is an issue here, but it must not be divorced from issues such as regarding security and extrapolated as just another example worldwide of terrorists raging against educating women- because certainly in this instance, this simply isn’t the case alone Boko Haram has hit a number of times in recent weeks- including bomb blasts in Abuja and previously, indicating that the persecution of educated girls is not at the root of their agenda and so this cannot be taken as the flagship issue in the fights against terrorism in Nigeria, to the exclusion of other serious problems.
According to reports and testimonies of the girls who were able to escape, the school had 15 armed security on duty when the attacks happened- 15 to face round 200 armed Boko Haram Militant who, understandably, would overwhelm them. Apparently, there were warnings given 2 hours before the attacks took place, that Boko Haram would attack, which resulted in the evacuation of some from the area- but why not more?
There were failures on different levels and situations in which differences could have been made- even the difficulty in accounting for which students had been present at the school etc speak of other issues which need to be dealt with and which in part set the backdrop for the abduction of almost 300 girls.
So yes, the protests in Nigeria particularly, but also all over the world are important and speak not only of this travesty, but of broader issues to do with accountability and standing up for what is right. As an international community we need to continue this solidarity. But in joining this effort to find the girls, please don’t let’s forget to ask the right questions and really try to petition the powers that be for CHANGE to increase the safety of our children, to prevent disasters such as this from re-occuring in Nigeria and to really, really help those girls.
The Narrator's Pen 