Geoff Iyatse

The second anniversary of the abduction of about 300 pupils of Chibok, Borno State, will come up in a week’s time. Yet, the expected social media traction to mark the event has not started.

Apart from the promoters of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, not many Nigerians are talking about the fact that the schoolgirls are still missing.

The girls were abducted from their school by suspected members of Boko Haram on April 14, 2014. A number of the victims reportedly escaped and returned to their families, while 219 are yet to be found.

The United States has, last week, pledged to give the Nigerian Government the necessary support to find and rescue the girls. Before now, such a commitment on the issue would have sparked a debate on social media. But that is not the case anymore.

As of Monday, only the key promoters of #BringBackOurGirls made some efforts to draw attention to the issue on social media. For instance, a human rights activist, Dr. Joe Odumakin, went on Twitter to remind the Federal Government that it had 10 days to rescue the girls or the country would mark the second anniversary of the kidnap without knowing their whereabouts.

A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, who has been at the forefront of the campaign, also made a reference to the Chibok girls when she blamed those being prosecuted for corruption for some of the challenges facing the country.

She wrote on Twitter, “While I am totally uninspired by @MBuhari ‘s economic policies, the #CorruptionWar is real. Those being prosecuted for #BloodMoney are not victims. How can anyone being prosecuted for #BloodMoney be cast as a ‘victim’ when they created the real victims — our Chibok girls and dead Nigerians?”

The abduction of the schoolgirls was condemned all over the world. The sad event led to the creation of the Bring Back Our Girls, a campaign that was largely driven on social media through #BringBackOurGirls. The hashtag, which is gradually losing its traction on social media, received global recognition almost immediately after it hit the cyberspace.

Wikipedia still celebrates a photograph of the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, holding a placard displaying #BringBackOurGirls hashtag. The photograph, which had gone viral on global digital space, was posted on her official Twitter page.

Pakistani girl child education activist, Malala Yousafzai, also endorsed #BringBackOurGirls and visited Nigeria to demonstrate her solidarity with the parents of the missing girls.

On the first anniversary, Yousafzai wrote a letter to the parents, assuring them that she would continue to speak with Nigerian leaders on their behalf.

Reports monitored by a foreign online platform said #BringBackOurGirls was used on social media more than one million times in less than three weeks of the abduction. During the first anniversary, the hashtag did receive considerable ‘patronage’. But the buzz was not sustained.

The last time the social media arm of the campaign attracted reasonable attention was in the earlier days of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration when the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, visited Nigeria.

As far as the critics of Buhari are concerned, he has failed on his promise to rescue the girls. Already, members of the Peoples Democratic Party have listed Buhari’s inability to rescue the girls as one of his failures in his first year in office. In an infographic posted on Twitter, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, said, “Chibok girls not found” was one of the promises Buhari failed to keep.

The President, during his maiden media chat, said there was “no firm intelligence” on the Chibok girls. A few days after the chat, online news media reported his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, as saing that the present administration was committed to finding athe girls.

“President Buhari has an unwavering commitment to finding the girls and reuniting them with their families. When the government of Buhari gave strict directives to the Nigerian Armed Forces to root out Boko Haram and bring an end to the insurgency, the kidnapped girls were foremost in his mind,” Shehu was quoted as saying.

rozayx5:
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APCHaram


meanwhile fuel is crippling our cities while the dullard is blaming pdp


the foolish woman ezekkwesilly is nowhere to be seen. last time aribsala took her to the cleaners
http://www.punchng.com/fuel-scarcity-paralyses-lagos-other-major-cities/

Firefire:

TANTUMERGO007:
where is that fart ugly woman ?

MarysMeal:



Honestly, you don't have shame.

MarysMeal:



Someone's mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher is fat and ugly.


You people won't cease to amaze me.

TANTUMERGO007:
like i care, my mum can't betray those girls......

TANTUMERGO007:
where is that fart ugly woman ?

Firefire:

Sorry, kamoli

0nyegame:
Do our so-called leaders/politicians take anything seriously in this country.


Comedy nation, senseless leaders and visionless politicians.

MarysMeal:



Honestly, you don't have shame.