What Happened To #BringBackOurGirls

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign was initiated in direct response to the kidnap of the Chibok girls by members of the boko haram sect. The hashtag immediately went viral, garnering global support from celebrities and prominent leaders such as the First Lady of the United States of America, Michelle Obama. Several people, since the inception of the campaign, have voiced their support for the release of the school girls via available social media platforms. However, it has been 3 months since the sad event occurred and yet no glimmer of hope for the return of our girls. Rather, what we see is the campaign being mocked by the boko haram members.

 

 A recent video released by the terrorist group revealed that the sect remains unnerved by the #BringBackOurGirls movement and has moved on to coining their own slogan “bring back our army”. Abubakar Shekau, leader of the terrorist group, mocked the campaign stating that it is a futile mission if his members, held under government custody, are not released. In his words “Nigerians are saying bring back our girls and we are telling Jonathan to bring back our arrested warriors, our army.”

This video reiterates the fact that the end of the insurgency is not in nearest future. In the video, While firing gunshots in the air, Shekau boasts of his clandestine modus operandi, which can never be unraveled by the federal government and promises to launch future attacks very soon. He attested to the bomb explosions in Emab plaza in Abuja, Apapa and Kano to mention but a few.

So the question remains, is a social media campaign sufficient coupled with protests and demonstrations enough to break the bounds of this sect and ensure the release of the Chibok girls? Admittedly, the campaign succeeded in raising global awareness of the grueling activities of the boko haram sect and garnered support from global leaders, human right activists, celebrities and the masses in general. But how far has it gone in suppressing the activities of the group? How effective has it been in healing the physical and psychological trauma faced by these girls? How efficient has it been in persuading Shekau to #bringbackourgirls”?

Raising placards with the inscription #BringBackOurGirls and posting them across social media platforms as well as organizing rallies and demonstrations wont suffice in bringing back those school girls. This recent video attests to this fact. Members of the sect seem to be unmoved by the campaign, thumbing their noses at the Nigerian Government and its people. Rather than discourage their activities and ensuring the release of the girls, the campaign seems to foster more attacks by the dreaded group as they see it as a dare.

Nevertheless, Shekau and his members have shown that a mere outrage on social media is not enough bait to get them to release the girls. So what then is the solution to this scourge? Personally I feel a robust military and political strategy – not social media activism – is highly recommended to defeat the global plague of Islamist terror. 

So far, foreign allies such as Britain and America have sent military troops and RAF surveillance aircrafts to Nigeria to aid the search of the girls but still no sign of the school girls or the troops. It is about time the Nigerian government quit pursuing their 2015 election ambitions and start intensifying its efforts to combat security challenges within the state and strategically seek out ways to defeat the menace perpetuated by members of this sect.

Below are excerpts from the video highlighting sect's goal, their world view and what Shejau terms the ills of Nigerian and western society.

"My greetings to all Muslim faithful, especially the jihadist. I am the father of Muhammadu, Abubakar the son of Muhammadu Shekau. May God grant us good intentions and make us succeed in our quest to see the face of Allah in this perilous times. the times when indecent living like homosexuality is being accorded legislative backing; the era when adultery and fornication has become a thing of pride; the period when people go about the world as though there is no God.

..........May God's wrath befall the name of Nigeria, all we know is the land of God. We are doing the religion of God and no one will stop us from practicing the religion of Allah, even if it is going to be only for a few millions of people. God has given us victories of recent and we give thanks to Him. W were the ones taht detonated bomb in Abuja, that filthy city; we were responsible for the bomb in Kano, in Plateau. We were th e ones that sent a female bomber to the refinery in Lagos but Adams Oshiomole the governor of Edo state said it was a fire disaster.

..........God is great. You will never understand my mode of operation because I am working for God. Nigerians are saying bring back our girls and we are telling Jonathan to bring back our arrested warriors, our army. Tell me who you are? I am reading the Quran and you are reading the constitution; I am reading the rules and regulations of the Quran and you are doing the constitution of the book of Lord Lugard, the book of Tafawa Balewa."