TheCable

Hadiza Bala Usman was Special Assistant to former FCT Ministers Nasir el-Rufai and Aliyu Modibbo. Today, she coordinates #BringBackOurGirls ­— a campaign that has rippled through the world, drawing on collaborations with the likes of Obiageli Ezekwesili. She shares her thoughts on the campaign with TheCable.

Starting the protest

I felt the need to get my Nigerian brothers and sisters to rise against this silence, and this relegation of the abduction of more than 200 girls to the back burner, because I felt this was beyond something we could sit back and allow.

We are Nigerians, and we should not allow people in our constituencies to be treated with disregard. These were young girls who were writing their examinations. The Nigerian government did not do anything that was required. They ignored it, and were moving on with their lives. I felt that we, as a people, should come together as citizens to challenge and to question that, because it is our right to find out what is going on.

As I always say, we are mindful of the fact not all information should be given to us. We do not want any information that would compromise the rescue operation of the girls. But at the same time, we feel that Nigerians need to know what is going on. And also, we need to see our Army actively engaged in the rescue operations. We have been engaged with the community, and they have told us several times that no one was looking for the girls. Prior to our sustained protest, there was no evidence of any military operation to rescue the girls of Chibok.

The gains

So much has been gained. We have gained a lot of mileage. But to the extent that the girls are not yet found, I would say that we have not done anything. For me, the success of this is having all the girls back and safe. We have been able to get the Nigerian government to create a platform where information will be provided; that is a step. We have been able to get the international community to look at this issue of ours and provide a helping hand. We have been able to ensure that the Nigerian government accepts the offer of help from international organisations and governments, which it declined before.

The president must visit Chibok

It is important to show solidarity, to communicate with the families, and let them know that the government is actively searching for their daughters. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. It doesn’t send the right signal if the C-in-C shies away from a place because of supposed security concerns. It doesn’t give the people comfort. They will think even the C-in-C is afraid to be here, what about us who have been left with nobody to care for us.

Next line of action

We are going to sustain our protest until the girls are found. Besides our sit-ins here at the Unity Fountain, we have protest marches to various government agencies that we feel have oversight functions on the security operations. We intend to visit Mr. President on Thursday to ask him some pertinent questions about the status of the girls.

No room for intimidation

There is no significant threat. Nobody has threatened me. But I will not be threatened or intimidated in any way, Istand firm on my position that I will continue advocacy until the girls are rescued and brought back home. 

How it will end

I believe our girls will be rescued and brought back to us, and I believe that this is the starting point of the end of insurgency in the northeast. With the Chibok issue, there is a spotlight on the northeast and the Nigerian Military. I believe this is a turning point in the fight against insurgency in the northeast.