Today marks 11 years since the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State - an event that shook the world's conscience and gave birth to the global hashtag movement, #BringBackOurGirls.
Yet as we reflect on this grim anniversary, the stark reality confronts us: 96 girls remain in captivity, their futures stolen, their families trapped in an unending nightmare. This represents not merely a tragedy, but a profound national failure that strikes at the very foundation of our social contract as a nation.
The Chibok abduction exposed the hollow core of our security architecture and the inability of successive governments to fulfill their most fundamental obligation - protecting the lives of citizens, particularly the most vulnerable.
That 96 young women remain missing after more than a decade of promises, military operations, and international assistance speaks volumes about our national priorities and competence. Each passing year without their rescue is not just another statistic but a continuing indictment of our collective failure.
What is perhaps most disturbing about the Chibok abduction is that it was not an isolated incident but the harbinger of a horrifying new normal.
In the intervening years, school kidnappings have become almost commonplace across northern Nigeria. According to Amnesty International, at least 17 mass abductions have occurred since 2014, with over 1,700 children seized from their schools by armed gunmen.
Save the Children's data paints an equally alarming picture. These children - whose only "crime" was pursuing an education - have been subjected to unspeakable trauma, including sexual violence and forced marriage.
The psychological impact of these abductions extends far beyond the immediate victims. Entire communities now live in fear, with parents forced to make an impossible choice between their children's education and their safety.
Schools have become targets rather than sanctuaries, and the promise of education as a path to a better future rings hollow when the classroom itself may become a gateway to captivity or death.
This climate of fear has further deepened educational inequalities in a region already lagging behind the rest of the country in educational attainment.
The response from successive governments has been a masterclass in ineffectuality. Grand pronouncements about imminent rescues have given way to uncomfortable silences. Military operations have yielded limited results.
President Bola Tinubu's administration now inherits this shameful legacy. While the abductions predated his presidency, the continuing captivity of the Chibok girls and many others now falls squarely within his remit. The government must demonstrate that it places a higher value on these young lives than its predecessors did.
In the considered opinion of this newspaper,the broader issue of school security demands equally urgent attention.Schools in vulnerable areas remain soft targets, with inadequate security measures and slow response times when attacks occur. A nation that cannot guarantee the safety of its children in pursuit of education is a nation that has abandoned its future.
Yet the crisis cannot be addressed through security measures alone. We must confront the underlying factors that have created fertile ground for extremism and banditry. Poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, and poor governance have all contributed to the security vacuum in which groups like Boko Haram and criminal gangs operate with impunity.
Any sustainable solution must address these root causes while simultaneously strengthening security responses.
For the few dozen Chibok girls who have managed to escape or been released, the journey to recovery has been arduous. Reports that at least 20 released girls were forced to marry former Boko Haram fighters highlight the complex challenges of reintegration. These young women require comprehensive support - psychological, educational, and economic - to rebuild lives shattered by their ordeal.
As we mark this somber anniversary, we must recommit ourselves to bringing home the remaining 96 Chibok girls and all others still in captivity. Their continued absence is a daily rebuke to our national conscience and a reminder of our collective failure.
Every day that passes without their rescue diminishes us as a nation and undermines our claims to sovereignty and competence.
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Beyond rescue efforts, we must fundamentally reimagine our approach to school security. Schools in vulnerable areas need not just guards but comprehensive security protocols, early warning systems, and rapid response capabilities.
Most fundamentally, we must recognize that the Chibok abduction and the many similar incidents that have followed represent not just security failures but governance failures. They reflect a state that has retreated from its essential functions, leaving citizens - particularly those in marginalised communities - vulnerable to predation.
Reclaiming these core state responsibilities is essential not just for addressing the immediate crisis but for rebuilding the social contract that underpins our national existence.
Eleven years is an unconscionable length of time for children to remain in captivity. Eleven years of anguish for their families. Eleven years of promises unfulfilled. As a nation, we cannot allow this shameful situation to persist. The remaining Chibok girls and all abducted Nigerian children deserve nothing less than our total commitment to their rescue and to ensuring that no other child faces their fate.
