No tags yet.
In 2014, approximately 276 school girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Four years later, with the crisis still raging, 110 additional school girls were kidnapped in the northeastern region of the country. Nigeria’s Ministry of Information released a statement following the attack, confirming that 110 girls remained unaccounted for after a raid on the Government Girls Science Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State. However, the government added considerable uncertainty to the situation by not releasing an official list of names, leaving many people confused and in the dark about the exact number of girls missing. The confusion was further exacerbated by deceptive government accounts of some schoolgirls being rescued by the army. Despite the confusing and potentially misleading statements from the Nigerian state, the president, Muhammadu Buhari, “promised the families of the missing girls that they'll be found and their attackers brought to justice.”
While the government floundered in its initial response to the Dapchi kidnappings, President Buhari eventually fulfilled his promise as 101 schoolgirls were released by the militants on March 21, 2018. Reports from the freed girls suggest that at least five girls died during the ordeal and another still remains in captivity. While the country’s information minister has reported that no ransom was paid to secure the release of the girls, their sudden return has sparked speculation that some cash was exchanged with the militants. These allegations, if proven true, bear dire implications for the future of Nigeria as the money will undoubtedly be used to further fund deadly operations by Boko Haram.
As the situation in Nigeria worsens, the United Nations Refugee Agency and its humanitarian partners have launched an inter-agency funding appeal for $157 million in response to the alarming rates of malnutrition and food insecurity in the Lake Chad region. The crisis in the Lake Chad Basin, a region spanning across seven countries, including Nigeria, has affected more than 17 million people, with 7.2 million of those facing severe food insecurity.
In 2017, a $241 million appeal by the UN to help 460,000 Nigerian refugees and internally displaced peoples was only 56% funded. In 2018, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $89 million in development assistance to Nigeria to target agricultural productivity, economic growth and healthcare. Yet despite these funding attempts, schools across Nigeria continue to remain closed due to the Boko Haram threat. The closure and destruction of schools is particularly harmful in Nigeria, as even before the insurgency, the country had one of the lowest education rates in the world. Much more work still needs to be done to relieve the suffering of the affected people and facilitate Nigeria in overcoming its present challenges. For more information on the crisis and the steps that must be taken to help, please refer to the “Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan” for 2018.
Evelyn is a second year Political Science student at the University of Toronto. Born and raised in the 6ix, she has a strong passion for human rights, with a particular interest in international relations. Still undecided about her future endeavours, Evelyn's interests are peeked by the fields of law and journalism. In her free time, she enjoys playing team sports, including hockey and lacrosse.
Sources
http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2018%20Nigeria%20Regional%20Refugee%20Response%20Plan%20-%20Jan-Dec%202018%20%28December%202017%29.pdf
https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/%E2%80%98little-hope%E2%80%99-quick-return-stability-lake-chad-basin-un-and-partners-launch-aid-appeal
https://www.unocha.org/rowca/lake-chad-crisis
https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/01/1001671
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/25/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-father/index.html http://reporting.unhcr.org/node/19891
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43535872
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43484146
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/21/abducted-nigerian-schoolgirls-returned-dapchi-boko-haram-militants/
https://www.usaid.gov/nigeria/press-releases/feb-05-2018-usaid-provides-89-million-new-assistance-nigeria