More than 6 weeks after over 200 girls were forcefully taken from their high school by extremists Boko Haram the girls have still not been brought home. This is despite the fact that the Nigerian government has had assistance from the US as well as many other international partners. In the midst of all the politics and public statements from officials we must not forget about the mother back in Borno (The missing girls’ place of residence) who doesn’t care or understand all of that, the mother back in Borno who simply wants to see her little girl back at home.
In my first article on the matter I placed the blame for the atrocity squarely on Boko Haram, but after 6 weeks they cannot be held responsible for the less than satisfactory work of the team looking for the girls. Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh claims that the military knows where the girls are being held captive, but says that “we can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.” This is to nonsense the allegations by critics that the Nigerian military is simply not acting fast enough. Their International partners, the United States, has come out publicly and said that they cannot verify or refute the claims.
The reason I have done a follow up story on the matter is to remind all our readers that we must keep the plight of the missing Nigerian girls current and relevant! We cannot forget about the girls who were sitting an exam trying to better their lives when they were kidnapped, we cannot forget about the mother who goes to the town square every morning hoping to hear some news on her missing daughter only to go home and cry at night because her baby is not home yet, and most importantly we must not forget about the girl who is in the middle of some forest surrounded by men with guns wondering if she is going to live another day. As we tweet obscure thoughts throughout the day and post glamorous selfie’s on Instagram let’s not forget to remember the missing girls and our responsibility, our duty to keep their plight alive through our social media accounts.
Photo Credits: AP