International Day of the African Child. PMB, Rescue our ‪#‎Chibok‬Girls. African Governments END forced marriage.

ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD 2015 #BringBackOurGirls NYC Demands CONTINUED action toward the RESCUE AND SAFE RETURN of 219 Female Students Who Were Abducted From Their School in Chibok, BORNO STATE, Nigeria ON april 14, 2014

For Immediate Release

June 16, 2015

Contact: bringbackourgirls@gmail.com; twitter@BBOG_NYC 

New York, New York –On April 14, 2014, armed militants from the insurgent Islamist group, Boko Haram, stormed female school dormitories in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria.  The militants forcefully abducted 200+ young female students, in the middle of the night, stole supplies and burned the school to the ground.  Since the April 14^th 2014 abduction, additional girls, women and children have been abducted in Borno State. This has had a paralyzing effect on countless other female students in Nigeria who are afraid to return to school for fear of suffering a similar fate.

The theme for this year’s International Day of the African Child is to end child marriage. Boko Haram has brazenly forced marriage upon its female captives, including our Chibok Girls. This atrocious and traumatic imposition must stop, primarily through the rescue of all abductees, and secondarily through institutionalized psychosocial support for rescued abductees.

Over one year after the Chibok abductions, despite the rescue of a little over one thousand women and children from Boko Haram, the fate of many of the abducted Chibok Girls who were forcefully separated from their families and communities remains uncertain.  Although the Jonathan administration informed its citizens and the world that it knew the location of the girls in May 2014, action was not immediately taken and as such, most of them remain in captivity. 

We are hopeful that the Buhari administration will act with a greater sense of urgency.  It has promised to prioritize the rescue of our Chibok Girls and to defeat Boko Haram. We believe this is possible and look forward to the rescue and reunification of our girls with their families. We also urge the Nigerian government to fast track the establishment of a psychosocial framework that will work on addressing the deep trauma to which our girls and other children abducted by Boko Haram have been subjected.

In collaboration with all #BringBackOurGirls Families in Nigeria, and the #BringBackOurGirls Global Coalition, #BringBackOurGirlsNYC calls upon the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Multinational Force mobilized to fight Boko Haram, the United Nations Security Council, and the International Community to redouble their efforts to #BringBackOurGirls.  We also call on the Nigerian government to keep Nigerian girls safe in their respective schools across the country, as well as to systematically protect our young girls from forced marriage, and defend those that have been forcefully married. 

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC will continue to sound the alarm and raise awareness on this matter until our girls are brought back and reunited with their families.

Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney's Press Conference for Chibok Girls 1yr...

Rep. Maloney, the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development & Leaders from #BringBackOurGirlsNYC mark 1-year anniversary of #ChibokGirls Abduction at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, UN, at 11am on Monday, April 13, 2015

One year after almost 300 Chibok girls were abducted from their school, #BringBackOurGirlsNYC appreciates Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney's support as she stands in solidarity with us, their parents, siblings and communities to call for their rescue by the Nigerian government, other West African and African states, as well as the UN and broader international community. Although saddened and astounded that our girls are yet to be rescued, #BringBackOurGirlsNYC remains hopeful that the world's governments and multilateral institutions will redouble their efforts to rescue and reunite them with their families. We will continue to stand with their families and communities until these hopes are realized. #BringBackOurGirlsNYC appreciate each and everyone that came to the Press Conference. See you tomorrow Tuesday, April 14 at 6pm at UN Church House Chapel (777 UN Plaza) Interfaith Vigil and Schoolgirl March to Nigeria House (2nd Avenue & 44th St., NYC) and the procession to see the Empire State Building lit up for our #ChibokGirls.

Thanks to Evon Idahosa for being steadfast in struggle to #BringBackOurGirls. Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney is to be applauded for rallying a diverse group of supporters in the cause of our girls, and in struggle to end violence against women. A part of the video and a few pictures are attached. More to come. 

One year after the Chibok Girls' Abduction, hope springs eternal

It is painful and unbelievable that we are approaching the one year mark since Boko Haram abducted our girls from their school in Chibok. Many more fellow Nigerians were abducted before and after. So many have lost their lives, and we have millions of IDPs and refugees. Despite the devastating circumstances, we remain steadfastly hopeful that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) would collaborate with the governments of Chad, Niger and Cameroon as well as other African states and international partners to rescue our abducted girls and fellow citizens and reunite them with their families.

The FGN has a huge responsibility: Besides ensuring that our girls and fellow citizens are rescued, IDPs must be given decent humanitarian assistance according to established best practices. Refugees must also be given thoroughgoing protection, decent conditions and humanitarian assistance according to established best practices. Communities that have been devastated must be rehabilitated. Our country also needs healing and an end to the atrocities fostered by Boko Haram.  

Sadly, #BringBackOurGirls will commemorate one year of our girls' abduction on Tuesday, April 14. Nevertheless we stand firm in our hope for their rescue and and reunification with their families. We encourage the FGN to begin making plans for the best psychosocial support for our girls, their families and communities, so they can resume their education and lives.

After our #ChibokGirls were abducted on April 14, 2014. if anyone had told me that it would be a year after and only those who managed to escape would have been found thus far, I would have categorically disagreed. But here we are. Therefore, consciously, we should maintain the hope that the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) will rescue our girls and reunite them with their families. We also expect that the government will give our girls and their families cutting edge psychosocial support according to best practices, as well as fast-track the rescue and reunification of all other abducted Nigerians with their families, with similar assistance.

Nigeria also has millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees who are scattered throughout neighboring West African countries, which have now also felt the heavy hand of Boko Haram in their territories. It is now clear that the governments of all these countries should have collectively mobilized a regional strategy to fight this scourge as soon as it raised its ugly head. They didn't. They waited for old colonizers to exhort them to do what they ought to realize is their primary job: ensuring the safety, welfare and security of their citizens. Now there is awareness that a regional strategy is required, but there is much squabbling. This must stop. There is no room for lack of concerted, united front against Boko Haram. While it is commendable that the governments of European states and the United States as well as those from other parts of the world have pledged commitment to help fight Boko Haram, the primary responsibility belongs with the West African states, followed by fellow African States. It is admirable that the African Union recognized this, and deployed a 7,500 strong Multinational Force, albeit later than one would have hoped.

I just read a New York Times account of the #Garissa massacre. It aptly describes the students mowed down by Al Shabaab as "The young hopes of Kenya." The connections between this horrible massacre and Boko Haram's rampage through Nigeria's Northeast are clear. A renegade band of misguided, power hungry, bloodthirsty insurgents want to impose their warped interpretations of Islam on the people in the areas where they are operating. Anyone who disagrees with them is labeled an infidel. Make no mistake, their misguided actions are as much against Muslims as they are against Christians.

I asked a friend who sees this as another case of Muslims attacking Christians to consider that there are indeed secular Muslims in this world, and just as in the case of many secular Christians who don't know the Bible, I'm sure there are Muslims who may not have passed the litmus test of  reciting portions from the Koran, and were thus summarily executed. We should see the Boko Haram abduction of our girls, their rape and plunder of Nigeria's Northeastern states, their suicide bombings, sometimes using very young girls, not as some kind of Muslim attack on Christians but as strategic and callous use of Islam as a cover for crimes against humanity. The same goes for Al Shabaab. Many respected, knowledgeable and virtuous Nigerian Muslims have condemned Boko Haram. Al Shabaab has been similarly condemned. All people of goodwill regardless of religious affiliation should come together and fight these efforts to divide us and manipulate us into hating one another.

Please read our press release:

Here are a few suggestions on actions you can take:

Our commemorative events include the following:

I.. Commemoration in partnership with Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, on Monday, April 13 at 11am at Dag Hammarskjold Park, UN 

 NEW YORK—On April 13 at 11:00am Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Ambassador of Surinam to the UN  Henry MacDonald, Minister of Counter Terrorism of the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations Lawal Mohammed Hamidu, City Councilmember Ben Kallos (District 5), Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (76AD), human rights leaders and activists, a group of High School students, members of the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development, and the #BringBackOurGirls advocacy organization will gather at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of the kidnapping of 276 girls from their school in Chibok, Nigeria by Boko Haram. Although some of the girls managed to escape captivity, 219 of them are still missing. Maloney will also announce that the Empire State building will be lit in purple and red on April 14th in recognition of the need to locate the girls and return them to their families.



Maloney and advocates will call for a vigorous international effort to find the girls, along with a full investigation to determine if some of the girls may have been among those murdered last month by fleeing Boko Haram soldiers.



As a gesture of solidarity with the Chibok Girls, the High School students in attendance will tie 219 ribbons around trees and railings. One ribbon for each of the girls still missing.



Attendees are asked to wear red (official color of #BringBackOurGirls) or purple (official color of Stop Violence Against Women).

II.  On Tuesday, April 14th, #BringBackOurGirlsNYC commemoration in partnership with Working Group on Girls, Girls for Gender Equity, Auburn Seminary, Muslim Community Network, American Jewish World Service, Intersections International, Lab/Shul, Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Nomi Network, Interfaith Religious Leaders of African Ancestry Concerned About the Abducted Nigerian Girls, Mentari and Collegiate Church of New York, will do the following:

 
1.  Interfaith Prayer Vigil at UN Church House (777 UN Plaza)
2.  Silent Schoolgirl Candlelight March to Nigeria House (44th St & 2nd Avenue)
3.  Rally at Nigeria House.
4.  Optional procession to Empire State Building to see the lights.

Please join us for this vigil and march as we stand in solidarity with the #ChibokGirls and their families and remind the world that they have not been forgotten. Wear RED and bring your signs/placards, red tape and flameless candles. 

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC chooses to maintain a hopeful stance as we commemorate this one year mark of our #ChibokGirls' abduction.  We stand firm in the unwavering hope that our girls will be rescued and reunited with their families and we urge all people of goodwill worldwide to stand with us. 

#NeverToBeForgotten 

#BringBackOurGirls

Nigeria's Bellwether Election: The Day After

A colleague just asked me what I think about the Nigerian elections .  Here below is what I told her in a nutshell.

It's a bellwether election that crashed the "tried and true" incumbent expectations of winning votes through straightforward material inducements for vote-type transactions, which are described as "stomach infrastructure" politics, in Nigeria (we have a sense of humor about everything!).

The president elect, General Muhammadu Buhari had run for all elections since 1999, when Nigeria made its 4th attempt since independence to embrace democracy once again. This makes his 4th try. He's clearly tenacious and purposeful.  He also learned from past mistakes in choice of running mate, pronouncement, organizing grassroots support, seeking support all over the country, and securing financial resources to fund the campaign.

The winner's war chest was minuscule compared with the loser's. The winning coalition also have some troubling elements, including some former political elites who were kleptocratic, so we'll have to see if the president elect has the capacity to hold them in check, but I also don't think he would have won without those "masterminds" and their resources, including their considerable strategic cunning abilities.

I see Nigeria as a country at a crossroads--the highway to ruin, which is easy to traverse, and the twisting, difficult road to reaching its full potential, which all Nigerians would have to commit to walking, or at least a critical mass of them, for any kind of meaningful change to occur. The president elect has a problematic history. He was a harsh dictator in the first iteration as a leader. We'll have to see whether he truly understands how to be democratic. But then again, the incumbent was never a military man and he had significant autocratic tendencies--something scholars of democratization attribute to the long history of authoritarianism.

Another problem is the cabal of venal elites that's part of the losing coalition and whether they are weakened enough to allow this administration to succeed. It also remains to be seen whether the rapacious elites in the president elect's coalition would not unite with their natural allies on the other side--the aforementioned venal elites--in order to protect their narrow interests.

There's much more one could say, but for me, given my involvement in the #BringBackOurGirls movement, I support the winners because they expressed resolve to rescue the Chibok girls and bring Boko Haram to heel in Nigeria's tormented Northeast. I believe them. The incumbent was never serious about this, except as a cynical last minute ploy to win votes. More annoyingly, his party so blatantly rigged, used violence and intimidation, and took Nigerians for fools. This election result symbolizes their rejection of these tactics, which is also extraordinary in Nigerian politics. Seems like we are seeing a somewhat "new day", but let's hope it lasts.

Take good care,

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC press release to protest Corporate Council for Africa dinner honoring Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, 8/6 2014

This is late but still relevant. With rallying, strategizing on how to #BringBackOurGirls, lobbying, keeping the issue of our girls on the agenda, and also having to take care of family and work responsibilities, we need clones to keep up to date.  Unfortunately the technology/know how is not perfected yet.  If you have a formula, do let us know (:  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome

bringbackourgirlsNYC2@gmail.com
#BBOG_NYC

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC invites you to the protest at the U.S.-Africa Summit dinner in honor of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday, August 6 at 6:30 p.m.

Washington, DC — On Wednesday August 6, 2014, over three months after the Chibok abductions, with heavy hearts, #BringBackOurGirlsNYC invites the public to a protest in solidarity with the families and communities of more than 200 girls abducted by the terrorist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria.  The protest is at Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, District of Columbia starting at 6:30pm.  The protest is to express outrage and disappointment that most of our girls remain in captivity over 3 months after their abductions, and after multiple appeals to the Federal Government of Nigeria by #BringBackOurGirlsNYC and all people of good conscience in solidarity for the girls’ safe return to their families. 

“We call on the Nigerian government to rescue these girls and reunite them with their families. We believe that this issue belongs to the Nigerian government, which should take primary responsibility and lead the effort to bring back our girls.  The problem of human security is an urgent and ongoing matter in Nigeria. It is the fundamental duty of the government of any country to provide security for its citizens. The Nigerian government should harness the skills, experience and knowledge base of all Nigerians at home and abroad to solve these problems.  #BringBackOurGirlsNYC thanks the US government, local NYC community groups, leaders and activists worldwide for their support and efforts to reunite these Nigerian girls with their families.” - Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome, Professor of Political Science, African & Women's Studies (#BringBackOurGirlsNYC)

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC believes that partnering with Nigerian women’s groups, NYC local organizations, activists and leaders; will bring the much needed attention to this urgent and heartrending matter. We remain optimistic that our girls will be rescued and reunited with their families and hope that this happens sooner rather than later under the leadership of the Federal government of Nigeria, assisted by the government of the US and the international community.

About #BringBackOurGirlsNYC

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC is a coalition of Nigerians, Nigerian Americans, Africans, Diasporan Africans and friends of Nigeria resident in New York City. We intend to redouble our efforts and continue to protest until these girls are brought back to their families. We will also work to better strengthen the dialogue concerning the #BringBackOurGirls initiative, and we encourage you to join and support us to urge the Nigerian government to rescue, re-unite the girls with their families, and provide them future support.  

The Nigerian abductions, 58 days post-Chibok

58 days post abduction, the Chibok girls are yet to be found.  The Nigerian government response continues to leave much to be desired. It’s largely MIA.  When it responds it sends at best, mixed messages, at worst, its response appears to be schizophrenic and utterly devoid of compassion.  For example, why ban demonstrations in Abuja, if Nigeria is indeed a democratizing country?  Such a move smacks more of authoritarianism than anything else because it closes up, rather than opens up the political arena.  It also denies fundamental civil rights to Nigerians and signals that only adulation of the government is acceptable, no critiques.  How then does the country expect to grow into a better polity?  How does it demonstrate that it cares about its people’s opinions, particularly when they are expressing compassion toward the marginalized and oppressed; calling attention to an egregious injustice and demanding solutions to problems that if left unsolved, are not only damaging to the families affected by the abductions, but to the entire country and its well being? 

The humanitarian response is poorly coordinated, haphazard and inadequate to the point of being nonexistent.  I know that NEMA exists.  There are also SEMAs!  But the only meaningful demonstration of the existence of an institution is its effectiveness; its capacity to deliver what it was established to provide.  Are the displaced populations in Nigeria experiencing the effectiveness of NEMA and the SEMAs?  Not in the least!  So, what then does it mean to have the largest economy in Africa?  Is it about jamborees and crowing in the media about Nigeria being open for business?  We should bow our heads, be ashamed, lament and mourn the absurdity of having this largest economy and lacking at one and the same time, the basic necessities of life for our embattled majority—the poor.  We should be saddened by the rampant lack of human security in Nigeria.  We should lament the yet to be realized Education for All (EFA) goals.  We should abhor a situation where the gross lack of absence of a medical care system means that our leaders and their affluent friends and family, plus the few privileged Nigerians revel in seeking medical care abroad.  We have had the disgraceful situation of First Ladies dying while seeking simple things like plastic surgery, sitting Presidents dying in foreign lands and their superior hospitals, sitting President’s sibling dying of heart inflammation while being stabilized for transportation abroad to get the best medical care.  The state of our roads is predominantly atrocious.  If you want potable water, you provide it.  If you want a good school for your children, you pay through the nose, or resign yourself to the tragic carcasses that most of Nigeria’s schools have become.  Our public Universities and other tertiary institutions are eyesores.  The Police College in Ikeja, Lagos, is an assault to the sensibilities of any thinking person.  What is wrong?  Are we conscious of the responsibilities of a sovereign nation to its people?  What is there to celebrate?  What is there to crow about?  If majority of our citizens are down in the depths of despair about their lack of capacity to put body and soul together, why are we not mobilized to use the resources of the largest economy in Africa to turn the situation around?  What is our future if we can live with a situation where our children can be so easily abducted and kept away from their families by irrational individuals spouting incoherent diatribes?  I am puzzled.

There is seeming lack of awareness that we are in a democracy and citizens have a right to a whole panoply of civil & human rights, including but not limited to:  asking questions and demanding answers from their government; peacefully protest government policies; freedom of speech; freedom of association; publicly criticize government policy and demand significant changes; insist on well functioning democratic institutions such as the rule of law, and by implication an independent, impartial and fearless judiciary; elections that aren't rigged, and a truly independent and well functioning INEC, an institution whose name more belies the aspiration that it encourages in the mind of those that are unfamiliar with its nefarious history and record of ineptitude, collusion with venal political elites to defraud the majority of Nigerians. As an aside, most Nigerians hope that the institution under Professor Attahiru Jega succeeds in demonstrating that it can run clean elections. The jury is still out on this. The executive branch does not seem to understand that law enforcement, defense, bureaucratic excellence in policy implementation and commitment to separation of powers are all it's responsibility. It seems to think some magic would produce such results. It is MIA, dead in the water, absent, clueless and seems utterly incapable to demonstrate any sense of purpose that connects with the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of Nigerians. One is almost driven to wonder: what is the essence of Nigeria's claim to being a nascent democracy?  Does it mean we should be unmoored, plan less, stumbling from one crisis to another and modeling our ineptitude as well as impunity writ large to the world?

Nigeria just this year celebrated 100 years of its existence. I was puzzled by the extravaganza and jamboree that attended the event. Why on earth do we want to celebrate 100 years of colonization? If we're confused enough to do so, why not do sober and more productive reflection that considers the enduring legacies of colonization on our body politic? Why not re dedicate ourselves to connecting with the best aspirations of our nationalist struggle for independence, lamenting the elusiveness of the "life better for all" that was promised in those heady days and demonstrating a commitment to doing all in our power to awaken those dreams, regroup, be serious and determined to fulfill the social contract that those nationalists of yore promised?  Instead we threw a most extravagant party, gave numerous scandalous awards, displayed in graphic relief that the plight of ordinary Nigerians matters little to its government. The attitude displayed was one akin to "fiddling while Rome burns".

What is the way forward?  There are passionate advocates of immediate rescue. These individuals and groups acknowledge the bankruptcy of the Nigerian government and call upon the international community to rescue us.  Some call for a return to military rule because there was order when the military had its jackboot on our necks.  In terms of asking the international community to swoop in and rescue us, it is surprising that we expect altruism and magnanimity.  Why should any country perform the magnanimous task of committing its human and material resources to rescue a country that seems to be hell-bent on self-destruction?  What justification would they offer to their people?  How would this be in their national interest?  Do we realize that when political scientists say that the international system is the realm of anarchy that the implication is about the salience of self-help?  The meaning of this simply is that no one will help you.  You help yourself.  If you are “helped” there is a price to pay.  Oftentimes, that price is the loss of autonomy, a sort of colonization.  Is this what we want?  Maybe that’s why we celebrated 100 years since the instantiation of colonization with so much fanfare.  Maybe that’s why we are so devoid of a sense of purpose and determination to establish a functioning political system that is designed to meet the needs of our people.  Maybe that’s why we have politicians that seem determined to fiddle while Rome burns.  They have such high salaries and perquisites of office that it is ridiculous.  Their people—the constituents they serve are predominantly destitute, hungry, incapacitated by problems that can be easily solved but prove to be intractable in Nigeria, and all they’re concerned about is how to fill their pockets with ill-gotten gains purloined from the patrimony.  It is a shame!

Leftists who raise the alarm about the craziness of a blanket call for rescue by America and the other world powers are right.  There ain’t nothing like a free lunch!  No rescue without giving something in return.  America is of course interested. So is China, so is the UK, so is France.  There is a panoply of other interested parties.  Each and every one of them is there in Nigeria “helping” to look for the Chibok girls and others that Boko Haram has disappeared.  We should be grateful but vigilant.  We should thank all these powers and powerful interests.  If we were organized and our house was in order, we would not need the extent of assistance that we now need so desperately.  However, vigilance is required.  The lessons of history, as recently as in Iraq and farther away in time in the Congo, show us that external intervention can cause more devastation than provide solutions.  No matter how grievous things are, we do not want to be recolonized.  Besides, no one can rescue us.  Only our collective efforts will rescue us.  The job ahead is messy, formidable, seemingly intractable, but really not insurmountable.  We should gird our loins and first rescue our girls, and then embark anew on the long and painful journey of nation-building.  It is difficult.  It is not impossible.  Without a state that is conscious of its responsibilities to the people of Nigeria, we cannot accomplish a thing.  What I am calling for is such a state to become manifest.  This is the meaning of independence, autonomy, self-determination and sovereignty.

Nigerians, rise to the challenge.

 

Women for Justice and Peace 1st weekly teach-in and discussion on Marina, Lagos

Yesterday, June 7th 2014, I attended a gathering of Nigerian civil society groups for a teach-in and discussion on the Marina in Lagos Island. The gathering was convened by Women for Peace and Justice. It was an overcast day with light drizzling from time to time. I didn't have an umbrella but those who did shared freely. There looked to be about 150 people present. They were of varying ages and varying cultural backgrounds. Many had been affected by political violence directly or in their families. Those present came from all parts of Nigeria, the North, the South, and the East. They were Muslims and Christians primarily. They were all gathered because they shared a commitment to the struggle for democracy and equal citizenship in Nigeria. The event started with the Nigerian national anthem, a Muslim prayer, and a Christian prayer.

Two speakers addressed the crowd and then there was a question and answer session. The first was Ibrahim Audu, an architect and member of the #BBOG group in Abuja and a native of the Chibok region. The other was Chidi Odinkalu, the chair of the governing council of the National Human Rights Commission in Abuja.

Audu made a lot of important points about how Abuja politics stymied the search for the missing girls.  When the abductions were first discovered and Chibok pople in Abuja as well as others alerted the authorities, they were dismissed because the powers that be in Abuja insisted that the abduction story was just that, a story, and one meant to politically discredit GEJonathan and his regime.  It reminded me of Washington, D.C. where action might be blocked on  perfectly reasonable bills simply because Republicans see them as coming from the opposition. similarly, action was blocked on pursuing the abductors because the story was seen as a fabrication of political opponents of the regime. The tragedy, Audu said, is that the girls were kept in a village outside of the Sambisa "forest" for 11 days before being moved to more inaccessible locations. In other words, they could absolutely have been recovered early on if not for the paranoia, callousness, and frank unprofessionalism of responsible officers in Abuja and the Northeast. Three weeks after initial reports of the abduction, the authorities decided to set up a fact-finding committee.  This move, only confirmed to the #BBOG abuja folks that the authorities still refused to believe. Meanwhile the clock was ticking on the missing girls.

The #BBOG Abuja folks have also experienced various kinds of harassment.  Famously,the Inspector General of Police in blatant contradiction of sections of the Nigerian constitution announced a ban on all rallies and protests related to the Bring Back Our Girls campaign.  Of course the Abuja based protestors were most immediately affected.  Less known is that there has been a counter protest movement that has emerged in abuja. Wearing red shirts like the #BBOG people, and chanting loudly, members of the Release our Girls group would converge in the sam place as #BBOG folks. They would chant for BH to release the girls, rather than for the Nigerian security forces to go and find them. It was absurdist political theater in Abuja while the clock was ticking on the missing girls.

The other speaker was Chidi Odinkalu with the Nigerian Human Rights Commission. He opened by leading everyone in a round of the activist anthem, "Solidarity."  Solidarity forever, we shall always fight for our right...

His talk was organized around 4 thematic areas; 4Cs, one could say: citizenship, caring, country, counting. Odinkalu emphasized the way in which the bbog movment has pulled together the country and recovered a practice of caring across various social lines. even in the small gathering on the marina, about 100 or 150 people, they still represented the diversity of the nation. By contrast government officials go on the news and they cannot account for the numbers of girls missing and yet these same officials readily talk about census numbers and budget numbers.  This politics of counting and not counting speaks to the low value accorded to citizens by certain national officials. The case of the missing Chibok girls, and particularly its handling is just another symptom of the limits of Nigeria's democracy. Despite these conditions, people were still committed to the dream of a Nigeria that valued its people and worked to enhance the lives of citizens. Odinkalu and others in the crowd did a roll call of Nigerian activists who had fought and died for democracy in the nation: Funmilayo Kuti, Fela, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Ken Saro Wiwa, Gani Fawehinmi, and others.  He emphasized that the larger struggle for justice and peace in Nigeria is a long term struggle and exhorted the gathering not to waste the high costs that others  had already paid or to forget the struggles of the past like the pro-democracy movements under Abacha and other dictators.

He closed with a few ideas and take-aways.
1) Security forces in Nigeria may be grossly overextended. There are three ongoing wars in the country.
Niger delta . operation money pulo : operation protect oil
Jos in the middlebelt
Northeast war against BH.

To deal with all this, the country's military has about 45000 folks, who are constrained in various ways due to their involvement in past coups. The troops are also under resourced and heavily centralized, thus ineffective in local areas that they may know little about.

Furthermore, the insurgency started 4 years ago.  Women have been abducted since 2010/ 2011 and in the heavily agricultural Northeast, the farms have long been abandoned due to insecurity.  There is not much food. All of these are humanitarian challenges for the region.

 Ramadan is coming and so is Eid.  Odinkalu suggested we  need a humanitarian plan  for the region that would create a corridor of security, food security, and other basic needs. Using what he called managed displacement these goods could be delivered to citizens while maximizing the available military resources.

On the education front, he said we need a plan to defend education. "People are looking at this as a war for territory but this is also a war for civilization." we need a credible plan to return education to the north. and we need a humanitarian plan for "managed displacement" of directly affected populations.

The gathering then broke into question asking, general discussion, sharing information from their various organizations.  A woman from Maiduguri said she was working on a plan to bring girls to the city for post trauma care as Maiduguri was still relatively safe, but she needed more contacts with officials and NGOs or foundations to put together a planning committee.  Another woman from the Muritala Muhammad Foundation offered to help. Solidarity in action.

Final Words:
june 16th.  people of conscience around the world should wear red in solidarity with the chibok girls
Day 55. To date, 57 of the girls are said to have escaped.  4 quite recently some of whom are in the hospital.  219 girls are still in the forest.
Nigerian elections are coming in 2015. All politicians should be asked what they have done for the campaign.  #No Girls No Vote

Bring Back Our Girls- Lagos, 1st weekly teach in and discussion, photos

Nigerian Police ban all protests in Abuja: ???

It's now 50 days after the Chibok abductions.  Instead of demonstrating through compassionate, well organized, concerted action that it is not only concerned about the abducted girls and their heartbroken families, yesterday, June 2, 2014, 49 days after the abduction, the response of the Federal Government of Nigeria, via the Nigerian Police Force, was to ban all protests in Abuja.  Chibok Schoolgirls: Nigerian Police ban all protests in Abuja

And it's curious that the Doyin Okupe, an advisor to President Goodluck Jonathan could go on international media to say with a straight face, that Nigeria is winning the battle against Boko Haram.
Nigeria 'not losing Boko Haram battle,' says president's adviser

If so, where are our girls?

The #BringBackOurGirls Abuja family is taking the right step by bringing a lawsuit that challenges this infringement on the democratic rights of these noble citizens of Nigeria.

Here is a statement from the group:

In light of the ban of all Chibok Girls protest issued by CP Mbu, we wish to inform you that our lawyers, Femi Falana SAN of Falana Chambers will be filling a suit today to challenge the legality of the action.

Our sit -out for today shall not hold as we shall all convey at the court to accompany our lawyer to file the suit.

Below is our press statement issued out this morning on the purported ban.

Kind regards,

Hadiza

And since Nigeria is 6 hours ahead of EST, the lawsuit should now be ongoing.  Members of the #BringBackOurGirls are asked to converge @ FCT High Court, Maitama #BringBackOurGirls

Dear Wonderful People,

We would be converging at the FCT High Court, Maitama for the filling of a suit to challenge the legality of the action of Police ban of protests in Abuja [#BringBackOurGirls campaign].

Time: 12 noon

Dress Code: Red T-Shirt with #BringBackOurGirls Now and Alive inscription, OR any Red apparel.

Hence, the visit to the court would now serve as our sit-out.

The Chibok Girls deserved all the legitimate sacrifice we can muster at this time.

We refused to be distracted from our singular demand: #BringBackOurGirls - Now and Alive!

We shall not fail Our Girls in ensuring that they are brought back home to their families- Now & Alive!

Please inform others.

Thank you.

Joel
www.bringbackourgirls.ng

 Here below is the PRESS RELEASE by the group.

Re: Purported Ban on All Protests on the Chibok Girls in FCT by Police Commissioner

We are members of the #BringBackOurGirls Abuja Family, a citizens movement advocating for the speedy rescue of the over 200 girls abducted from Chibok Secondary School, Borno state. Ours has been a single-issue campaign for the safe return of the abducted girls. In the last 34 days we have done so through peaceful daily sit-outs, and some marches to key governmental actors urging them to act swiftly to rescue the girls from the terrorists.

Earlier today we received with shock the statement credited to the FCT Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu that "...All Protests on the Chibok Girls is hereby banned with immediate effect…"

We wish to remind the Commissioner of Police Mbu that he cannot take any action that violates our Constitutionally guaranteed rights as citizens, particularly our rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, amongst others as enshrined in Chapter Four (Section 40) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended).

We are puzzled about the inconsistencies in the communication emanating from the Nigerian Police. We recall that on 12th May, 2014, the Nigeria Police Force on its website published a news item with the title: "Police Not Against Peaceful Assemblies" in which the Inspector-General of Police, M.D. Abubakar restated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to the protection and enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens.

Over the last 34 days, we have been widely acknowledged, including by the Police and the Federal Government delegation, which represented President Jonathan at one of our meetings for the peaceful, disciplined, and decorous manner we have always conducted the activities of our movement. In consonance with our approach, we shall tomorrow be in court with our lawyers, Femi Falana SAN to file a suit challenging this purported ban by C.P. Mbu.

In the interim, we shall not hold our sit-out tomorrow 3rd June, because we shall be accompanying our lawyers to the Court where we hope to obtain an immediate restraint on this unconstitutional, undemocratic and repressive act. Our Movement is legitimate and lawful and cannot be arrested by the police whose responsibility is to enforce, not betray the law.

We, the members of the #BringBackOurGirls Abuja Family, remain   resolute and will persist in using all lawful means to sustain our peaceful advocacy for the safe rescue of the Chibok Girls. We therefore encourage all those in Nigeria and other Nations that have similarly taken a stand for the cause of the girls to continue to do so with the clarion call: BRING BACK OUR GIRLS, NOW AND ALIVE!!!

Signed

Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman

For the #BringBackOurGirls Abuja Family


And here below is a piece done by Maryam Uwais


Chibok, the Coalition and the Federal Government of Nigeria


When, on the morning of 15th of April 2014, an obviously very distressed guard from Chibok approached me, to inform me of the abduction of almost 300 girls from the Government Secondary School in his hometown, I looked at him in utter disbelief. How do almost 300 girls get carted into trucks and taken away, in one fell swoop?

Over the next few days, however, my dread and apprehension slowly manifested into inescapable reality. To this date, our girls still remain in captivity, almost two months after that awful morning. In the period, the BringBackOurGirls Coalition, beginning with one tweet and several protest marches in many State capitals of Nigeria, has succeeded in drawing the attention of the entire world to the plight of these 273 Nigerian girls, who were driven away into the Sambisa forest, without a trace. As a consequence, several countries have offered to support Nigeria in it’s efforts at rescuing them, while protests continue and prayers are being offered, all over the world, for their safety and swift return.

Terror knows no boundaries; everyone is affected by the bombings and killings, without exception. For once, Nigerians from all walks of life, irrespective of ethnicity or faith, are united on this singular effort and message. Our citizens have risen in an unprecedented show of unity, to demand that the girls’ be rescued, while the international community has been galvanized, in an awesome demonstration of human solidarity, to join Nigerians in this quest.

For me, as each day passes, and especially when the sun begins to fade, sobriety overwhelms me. I try to imagine what it must be like for those little girls in the Sambisa forest. I think of the descending dark of night enveloping them; slithering poisonous snakes; wonder how they can keep clean, eat and drink clean water. I imagine them holding onto each other, crying and struggling earnestly to give each other courage. Then I remember those evil men, and my mind draws a blank. I cannot think any further. This must be every mother’s worst nightmare; that her child is kidnapped by armed men, to a place beyond her reach, for days unending. I shudder with the thoughts of how the parents and that community must feel; the suspense and the anguish they must be going through.

I resolve again and again that I must do all that I can to keep the issue on the front burner of the Nigerian discourse. I cannot sit at home and lament about the situation so helplessly; I must remain engaged and involved. I must find creative ways of collectively and constructively engaging our citizens on security concerns, and our leaders on how we can support them, to make our country a safer and more peaceful place to live in. We cannot allow that the girls be forgotten or sidelined by other ‘breaking news’, for that would amount to abandoning them (and their families) to a fate worse than death.

So I have committed to the BringBackOurGirls campaign. The BringBackOurGirls Coalition has become, for me, a place of solace and hope; where Nigerians from all walks of life and irrespective of religion and ethnicity, come together as one, completely shutting out the divisive cacophony of voices in our public sphere, who continue to use these superficial dissimilarities to garner selective advantage. We, as a Coalition, have tried to engage our leaders, elected and appointed, who swore on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to protect and secure our lives and our welfare. These include the leadership of the National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Advisor, The Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Governor of Borno State and finally, the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Our meetings with the National Assembly and the Office of the National Security Advisor were constructive and reassuring, but the response from the President, as read out by the Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory, was disappointing, as it displayed a defensiveness that was unfounded and totally unnecessary. Paradoxically, even though the content of his letter warned against politicizing the Chibok incident, the message from the Executive continues to attribute politics to the discourse, in a matter that is so plainly about safeguarding the lives of vulnerable Nigerian citizens.

The narrative that has since emerged from our engagement with the President’s representatives suggests that Nigerians should direct their message to Boko Haram, to ‘release the girls’, as the message, ‘bring back our girls’, appears to place the blame on government for the incident. As far as the Federal Government is concerned, since it is not in custody of the girls, the demand should be directed at Boko Haram. Ever since then, our peaceful protests (as a Coalition) have been characterized by intimidation. Government buses, loaded with women, have been brought to the precise location where we meet, to sing and dance around the Coalition, in an effort to drown out our voices.

Thugs have been unleashed on one of our meetings, to disrupt our peaceful discussions, snatch bags, phones and break chairs, without provocation. A Government Minister has accused us of being partisan, inferring that we are opposition. We are locked out of parks when we relocate to other public spaces. Determined to remain focused on our singular campaign to bring back our girls, however, we have not reacted or allowed ourselves to be provoked into violence. We have continued to meet wherever we can, notwithstanding these distractions. Precisely because our girls are still out there, somewhere unknown and in danger, and our purpose for meeting remains unfinished.

We are accused of being opposition, merely because we have dared to ask our elected leaders to be accountable to the people that voted them in. I, personally, have never subscribed to any political party and have striven, all my working life, to assist, wherever I can, to making my country a better place. Our 1999 Constitution guarantees me the freedom to assemble, associate and express myself. I ask myself why Government should be so nervous and react so negatively to the demand that it lives up to it’s responsibilities; why should they insist that I direct my questions to Boko Haram? I do not know what the membership of Boko Haram consists of, where they are or how they operate. But I do know my leaders and firmly believe they are in office to serve Nigerians and Nigeria. A responsible leadership should take steps to assuage and allay its citizen’s fears by being receptive and approachable. This is what we see obtains all over the world; should I not remind our own leaders that they are in office for the purpose of service? Most importantly, Government should not alienate it’s own people by intimidating and labeling us enemies of State, especially when all we seek to do is to peacefully exercise our constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.

Moreover, every Nigerian has the right to demand for answers from their leadership, even if politics is our particular vocation in life. Indeed, as Nigerians, we are each, individually bigger than the components (of the identities) of the faiths we profess; greater than our vocations (as politicians), roles or professions; larger than our sundry ethnic groups. We are human beings. Is it so difficult to comprehend that when we confront our leaders with our security concerns, we do not recall what ethnic group or culture they belong to, what language they speak or faith they subscribe to? We do not remember what party platform they utilized to attain office. Can our leaders just please trust that all we want are results and an outcome that is reassuring to us, as citizens?

Yesterday evening, in an inexplicable admission of his incapacity (or unwillingness) to ‘protect citizens from terror’ (his ostensible justification) within the FCT jurisdiction, the FCT Commissioner of Police ‘banned’ the BringBackOurGirls Coalition from holding protests in public places. In a democratic dispensation! We, as law-abiding citizens, have decided to challenge this violation of our constitutionally guaranteed rights, in a court of law. Perhaps we have been under Military rule for too long, and this is why the leadership should feel a sense of outrage, that citizens should dare to remind them that they have responsibilities towards them.

I had hoped and prayed that when the girls are finally rescued, ALL Nigerians, including our President and members of the Coalition would be able to stand together, on the same platform, to welcome them, rejoicing ecstatically. Sadly, members of the Executive in our Government, by their recent tactics, demonstrate a paranoia that renders this scenario mere wishful thinking, on my part.

All we want and continue to demand for is that our girls to be brought back, safe and alive. This singular message has been consistent, loud and clear and cannot be different from what the Government would want to happen. Government just needs to accept that not everyone is the enemy. Not everyone is interested in politics or holding public office. Not everyone is out to disparage, blame or denigrate the other. On the contrary, most Nigerians are more interested in living in peace and harmony. We yearn to be assured of security and protection. We crave a leadership that is responsive, accountable, empathetic and result-oriented.

And all we are asking for now is for those in positions of leadership to ensure that our girls are brought back, now and alive!

Maryam Uwais
1st June 2014

There was an interfaith rally to call for the recovery of all abducted Nigerian girls and their reunification with their families on Friday, May 23, 2014 from 11 am to 3pm, at Nigeria House NYC (828 2^nd Avenue, b/w East 44^th & East 45^th Streets).

#BringBackOurGirlsNYC joined in the rally organized by “For the Love of Africa, For the Love of Nigeria, and the Organization for the Advancement of Nigeria (OAN), Christian Association of Nigerian Americans (CANAN), the National Council of Nigerian Muslim Organizations in the USA (NCNMO), Nigerian Lawyers Association, Nigerian Social Workers Association, Nigerian Diaspora Leadership Forum (NDLF), quite a few other concerned Diasporan Nigerians and organizations. The keynote speaker was Mr. Emmanuel Ogebe, who was invited by "For the Love of Africa, For the Love of Nigeria." Other speakers include Prince Akeem Adeyemi, who participated spontaneously, Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, National Presiding Minister of the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church, The Legal Aid Society of America, NYC Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson and District leaders from the 16^th District, NAACP Bronx Chapter leader Cohen.  Ambassador Abah of the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations made a few remarks.  He said he was speaking as a parent who is heartbroken about the abduction and hoping that the girls would be brought back to their families.  

Several members of #BringBackOurGirls participated.  There were three women from my Church, Kenilworth Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY, two of whom arrived before the rally began, and stayed to the end. Our affiliated member organization, Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Families was there, as were Ernesto Mora, Media Relations Manager at Brooklyn College, CUNY, and Jamilah Simmons, Senior Writer, Brooklyn College Publications. 

A Jewish rabbi joined us spontaneously, as did other friends of Nigeria.  The spirit of solidarity was strong, palpable and encouraging.  

We want our girls to be brought back to their families.  We want it now. And we want the Federal Government of Nigeria to assure us that “never again” will any of our children be subjected to such trauma.  We also want Nigeria to understand that Education for All is part of the global agenda.  Security, well-being, and welfare of Nigerian people should be guaranteed by FGN as provided by Section 14 of the Nigerian Constitution.  The true reflection of “largest economy in Africa is one whose people can truly enjoy the life more abundant for all that our nationalist leaders promised during the anti colonial struggle.  We need a government that makes us proud.  FGN, Rise to the challenge! #BringBackOurGirls! More video, pictures, updates to come.