**Chibok, 10 years later: Story of resilience and fight for freedom**
Ten years ago, a dark tragedy struck the Nigerian village of Chibok. On April 14, 2014, Islamic extremists stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok community, Borno State, kidnapping nearly 300 girls as they prepared for exams. science.
Last Sunday, activists and those affected by the event gathered in Lagos to mark the 10th anniversary of the kidnapping, calling for the release of the nearly 100 girls still detained.
This sad episode in Chibok marked the first mass kidnapping of schoolgirls in the West African nation.
Today, survivors like Grace Dauda and Rebecca Mallum share their stories of resilience amid trauma. Dauda, who spent three years in captivity, recounts the challenges of recovering from his ordeal, undergoing several surgeries to heal injuries sustained during his captivity. Despite the difficulties, she found solace in education, seizing the opportunity to study in America after her fourth operation.
Since then, at least 1,500 students have been kidnapped, as armed groups increasingly find them a lucrative way to finance other crimes and control villages in Nigeria’s mineral-rich but poorly managed northwest region. polite.
Unlike the Islamic extremists who carried out the Chibok kidnapping, the criminal gangs terrorizing villages in northwest Nigeria are mainly former herders in conflict with host farming communities, authorities say.
Aided by weapons funneled across Nigeria’s porous borders, they operate without a centralized leadership structure and launch attacks primarily motivated by economic interests.
Some analysts see the schoolboy kidnappings as a symptom of Nigeria’s growing security crisis.
The security failures that led to the Chibok kidnappings 10 years ago are still in place in many schools, according to a recent survey by the Nigerian office of UNICEF, which found that only 43% of minimum security standards such that the fence and the presence of guards are respected in more than 6,000 schools surveyed.
This sad reality reminds us of the importance of protecting our children and guaranteeing their right to education in complete safety. We must act collectively to put an end to these traumatic kidnappings and ensure a better future for future generations.
The commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Chibok kidnapping should inspire us to redouble our efforts to build a world where every child is free to grow, learn and thrive, without fear of violence and oppression.