#BRINGBACKOURGIRLS RENEW CAMPAIGN

One year after, campaign for the release of 2019 Chibok schoolgirls has been reactivated on social media. In the past three days, the abduction which took place at the Borno State border town on the night of April 14, 2014, became a subject matter on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, with some analysts calling for a more serious action to facilitate their release. Thousands of Nigerians took to social networking sites to share their frustration about government’s inability to rescue the missing girls. They called for

an increase in rescuing efforts towards securing their release. Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, a human rights activist, said government needs to do more, adding that the poor girls could not be left to the mercy of terrorists. “They went just in search of knowledge. The girls are not to blame. In solidarity we stand,” she tweeted on Tuesday. She also questioned the country’s commitment towards #BringBackOurGirls cause and tasked Nigerians to “ask themselves how much of Chibok spirit they still demonstrate one year after the ugly incident. Okei-Odumakin said individuals must begin to put pressure on the government to rise to its responsibility, noting that adequate efforts had not been made to secure their release. The activist also tweeted a passionate appeal made by the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, at a #RescueOurGirlsNow event held on Tuesday. The respected professor of literature called on the government “to increase efforts” and also asked Nigerians to join the campaign. In a statement posted on Twitter, Pat Utomi, another professor, condemned what he described as poor response, saying that “our attitude to the Chibok story is a test of our sense of humanity.” Photos, videos and speeches of events marking the one year commemoration have been trending on different social media platforms in the past few days.

Bloggers had also captured unusual initiatives, including that of two young men, Okocha John Ndukwe and Damilola, who took their protest to the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, on Tuesday. The protesters chained themselves during their two-hour protest to draw attention to the torture faced by the missing girls.

Other nationals have also shared their concerns on digital media. Leading foreign voices on Tuesday was the Pakistani girl activist, Malala Yousafzai, who has remained a notable voice for the victims.

In a letter addressed to the Chibok girls, Malala said they had remained in her “thoughts and prayers.” It was the second letter she had written in the past three months to show her solidarity with the victims

“We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured. But please know this: We will never forget you. We will always stand with you. Today and every day, we call on the Nigerian authorities and the international community to do more to bring you home,” she said.

The Nobel laurel for Peace joint winner said she would not rest until the girls are “reunited with your families.”

She recalled, “Last July, I spent my 17th birthday in Nigeria with some of your parents and five of your classmates who escaped the kidnapping. Your parents are grief-stricken. They love you, and they miss you. My father and I wept and prayed with your parents – and they touched our hearts.

“The escapee schoolgirls my father and I met impressed us with their resolve to overcome their challenges and to complete their high school education. My father and I promised your parents and the girls who had escaped that we would do all we could to help them.”

Malala also recalled, in the letter posted on blogs, how she also became a target of militants who did not want girls to go to school. She said the campaign, which she started after the her terrible experience, would continue until children facing similar challeges in different parts of the world, including the Chibok girls, are liberated.

She condemned the Nigerian government and the international community, saying they had not done enough to “help you. They must do much more to help secure your release. I am among many people pressuring them to make sure you are freed.”

As the global community vents its frustration, some social media critics said it was obvious that passive protest would not bring the abducted girls back. They want Nigeria, especially the government, to take braver step.

Posting on @TomMartynRyland, a foreigner said tweeting and facebooking would not rescue the hostages. He described #BringBackOurGirls and similar campaigns embarked upon in the past one year as pointless, while he called for “real stuff.”