For April 2014, di northeast Nigerian town of Chibok rise to global prominence afta di kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls and di #bringbackourgirls campaign wey involve global figures.
Ten years later, di ongoing threat by violent groups still dey harm di livelihoods of many for di town.
Wiping away tears, Esther Yakubu recall how tough life don be without her daughter Dorcas.
”E don reach 10 years since my daughter dey in captivity with Boko Haram. E no dey easy. Pipo say make I move on, say I get oda pikin dem, but wen I dey alone, I dey think about her.”
Seeing Dorcas belongings for house dey constantly bring back painful memories and e no let her to move forward from her grief. So Esther decide to get rid of dem, except for a few pictures.
”I give out all her tins to pipo wey dey live outside Chibok so dat I no go get dem near me. I just no wan see dem.”
During di night of 14 April 2014, Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnap 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school for di den little-known town of Chibok.
Di abduction trigger one global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, wey involve former US first lady Michelle Obama, Nobel Laureate Malala Yusufzai, and many oda celebrities.
Ten years later, many of di girls don either dey rescued or manage to escape. However, 87 out of those 276 still dey in captivity and dey unaccounted for. Dorcas na one of those missing girls wey bin dey only 16 years old at di time of her abduction.
For her mother Esther, di uncertainty of not knowing about her fate make am nearly impossible to move on.
”I want di goment to let our girls to dey free and let dem come back home. We want to see those wey dey alive so dat we fit dey happy. Those wey no dey alive, make we know so dat we go just give up.”
Esther never receive any official information wia her daughter fit dey, but she bin appear for one ‘proof of life’ video by di hostage takers in 2016. For dat video, Dorcas identify herself as Maida, a new name wey her captors give her.
”If Dorcas fit hear me now, I go tell her say I still dey alive and Chibok town still dey exist, so dat she go have dat eagerness to come back home to see us.”
Reaching Chibok
To tell di tori from dis remote part of northeast Nigeria na long and hard journey in itself. Di road to Chibok start from di neighbouring Adamawa state. Na a long drive through a dry and open landscape.
We drive past one fallen telecom mast. Our guide tell us say e dey suspected say na Boko Haram pull am down to scata communication. How pipo wey dey live here fit call for help?
Di group still dey active for di area.
We pass at least half a dozen military checkpoints before we reach our destination.
Chibok itself na garrison town with a heavy military presence. Di army don set up two further checkpoints and barricades as well as a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew.
New School
Di Government Secondary School for Chibok get a new look. Dem rebuild am for 2021, and e still get a few traces of di events wey happen here dat fateful night.
Dem don demolish di dormitory wia dem kidnap di girls. No sign of wetin happen here ten years ago – except for some blocks of one old concrete floor.
Although e dey relatively new, di cream-coloured painting on some of di school buildings already don dey peel off, perhaps due to di hot weather, wey don also bleach di grass in front of di administrative block to a golden-brown colour.
Muhammad Chiroma get appointment as di new principal wen di school reopen for 2021. E say e get some improvement in security since e start office.
”Almost evri part of di school, within and outside, dey surrounded by di military. We get very tight security. As you come in here, you go just feel as if you dey at home”.
”Parents wey bin send dia children to oda schools don dey bring dem back. We also don dey receive new students wey transfer from oda schools to join us,” e tell us.
Chibok get limited school options, a primary and di goment secondary school.
Mr. Chiroma tell me say e believe say di community dey safe, and e dey confident in di military wey dey guard dem. However, dem don get at least two recent attacks by Boko Haram insurgents as recent as in December 2023 and January 2024. Di gunmen kill at least 14 pipo and tiff food items.
Ongoing challenges
Manasseh Allen dey born and raised in Chibok and e move to di federal capital Abuja just eight months after di schoolgirl kidnapping. Today, e dey campaign dia on behalf of residents of im hometown and regularly dey visit to see im parents wey no too strong.
”E get so many tins wey never change for Chibok, even in di school. Yes, structures don come up, but dem still no get ICT facilities, no laboratory, no library, no water, nothing.
”Also low governance dey here. No electricity for di past 10 years; those wey dey do business wey need light no fit function well,” e tok.
”Before 2014, I bin dey into farming, poultry, and fishing. I bin be one of di highest private sector employers of labour in Chibok.”
Di activist and politician say im farm business bin dey destroyed wen Boko Haram bin go on a rampage.
”We lost evritin, dem burn down evritin, some of our drivers bin also dey killed on di highway. We lost vehicles; we lost evritin to Boko Haram.”
Manasseh believe say dem never get any improvement since e move away.
”I think di goment and di world don abandon Chibok,” na so Manasseh tell me.
Di one place wey see di most commotion and activity na central market.
Hassan Usman dey sell building materials dia and e welcome me into im shop, e dey eager to tok about business in Chibok.
”Di security in Chibok here don affect our businesses seriously, especially my own. I dey sell building materials. Nobody dey willing to come and build im house or renovate in house again.”
”Some don relocate out of dis community since 2014, wen di school abduction happen. But di security situation don dey stabilize gradually,” e tok.
Since di Chibok schoolgirls abduction in 2014, dem don kidnap more dan 1,400 students for at least 10 school attacks. In two incidents wey happen for March, more dan 300 students bin dey abducted.
Ongoing Efforts
For di capital Abuja, I meet Senator Muhammad Ali Ndume wey be di national lawmaker from Borno South Senatorial District, wia Chibok dey located, for di ruling APC party.
”Di goment dey do sometin and di goment dey concerned,” e tell me. “I go ask di parents to continue to dey patient and to continue to pray say dia daughters go come back.”
E say ransom payments during di previous administration, wen over 100 Chibok girls bin dey released following negotiations, don make di problem worse.
”Only God know di amount of money dem pay. I tink na from dia na im pipo believe say if you take somebody, you fit get a lot of money.
”Dat na di mistake wey open room for dis security situation now.”
Di goment at di time bin deny reports say dem pay ransom for di release of 21 Chibok girls for 2016. But di following year, officials admit to securing di release of 82 oda Chibok girls in exchange for detained Boko Haram suspects.
Senator Ndume reject criticism say e don fail di Chibok pipo and e continue to call for goment action to rescue di remaining girls and odas wey dey in Boko Haram captivity.
”Di Senate go resume on 16 April wey go be two days after di 10th anniversary of di abduction of di Chibok girls,” e tok.
“I promise to put forward a motion to call on di goment to put in more effort to prevent abductions and to make schools safe,” Senator Ndume tell me.
Di hope of di parents of di 87 missing Chibok schoolgirls say dem go get dia daughters back fit don dey fade, but for Esther, she no dey give up.
”I know say God dey with her over dia and I get hope say one day I go see her again.”
