Politics and Society
Inside a #BringBackOurGirls protest
On 22 August 2014, the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group, acting as a nation’s conscience against poor political will and citizens’ forgetfulness, organised a protest to mark the 130th day since the 276 schoolgirls taken by Boko Haram were stolen from their families, their education and their lives, in Chibok, Borno State. A change of government and 736 days later, the girls are still missing.
Bring Back Our Girls group protesters on the streets, marking the 500th day of the girls abudction. Photo: Afolabi Sotunde (Reuters)
Doubt and indifference
Not everybody present believes that the rally will achieve results. One protester cites the example of the protests that broke out after the annulment of the 2003 presidential election, which Moshood Abiola was poised to win. He says many people he knew protested against the then military government but were later offered positions of power. Their days of dissidence were soon forgotten. He said he was at this rally purely out ofcuriousity.
Another anonymous protester is also iffy about the rally. ‘I am not sure what this protest will achieve. It’s a bit too tame. It should be more violent. Egypt didn’t get its freedom through protests like this. We should be marching to Aso Rock [where the presidential complex is].! At whom are we directing this protest?’
The protest stops in front of the Federal Secretariat. Protesters hand out fliers about the kidnapped girls and the campaign’s work to passers-by, encouraging them to help spread the word and not let the girls become just another page in Nigeria’s increasingly battered terror diary. The protesters get mixed reactions from passers-by: from gratitude to irritation to sheer indifference. The protesters are unfazed by this. To them, the cause is bigger than those who are reluctant to demand that the government perform its duty.
’According to the constitution of Nigeria, the government is responsible for the safety and security of the people, so the President rescuing the girls shouldn’t be in response to any appeal or begging; it is his constitutional responsibility,” says Dino Melaiye, a former member of the House of Representatives, Nigeria’s lower legislative arm, who has been with the campaign since its early days.
’We are all from Chibok!’
‘People say to me, Why are you risking the life of your family doing this; you’re not from Borno State. How is it your problem? I believe it is important to maintain the value of being our brother’s keeper,’ says Hadiza Bala Usman, a co-ordinator of the campaign.
‘The campaign also stands for the girls’ parents. They are, the ones most ravaged by the terror sect’s act. About 11 parents have died since the kidnap. Some of the parents in Chibok are utterly despondent. They have given up completely, almost as if they are saying to Boko Haram, come and get me, the worst has already happened,’ says Dauda Ilya, an elder of the Chibok community in Abuja. .
Night is falling as protesters return to Unity Fountain. Some recall how Nigerians did not care about the Ebola virus until it reached our shores, but then everyone worked in unison to contain the fatal disease. If only half of that commitment had been shown to returning the kidnapped girls, they would have been home by now.
Back on the lawn of the Unity Fountain, Ezekwesili is front and centre. She thanks everyone for their continued commitment and vows that every milestone reached, such as today’s 130 days, will be marked by a protest or some activity to keep the issue top of mind. Her steely resolve is echoed by all present:’As long as our girls remain missing, we will continue to speak for them.’
The campaign will return to fight another day.
