There are many misconceptions. Let me stick to Chibok because I know it best, given focus, research, protest and activism that I have done since 2014. The communities have never been silent. If we choose not to hear them, it is not their fault. There is a list.
The Christian Association of Nigeria produced it but only after they found out that majority of the kidnapped girls are Christian. They even went to the extent of indicating the religious affiliation of each child. Some of the girls escaped. Some were rescued. It is alleged that the largest number that were “rescued” were ransomed.
I have no problem with ransoms because if it is my daughter, and it’s the only way they would be freed, I would pay. I even contributed hundreds of thousands of naira to a 50 million naira rescue fund for a UI classmate.
It is also disingenuous to present the Yoruba elites as superior in sensibility to their northern counterparts. How exactly? If the kidnappers decide to face Yoruba communities in the ways that they have faced the North, we will see how nonsensical all these analyses are.
Besides, whether the kidnappings happened in the North, East, West, or wherever, are these not all Nigerians? How many people here thought it was anything important enough to protest about when the kidnaps were in the North? Are they all not God’s children?
The Federal government is responsible for securing the national parks and forests like Sambisa and those abutting Oriire and other communities. It didn’t do its job. Also, the Federal Government under Tinubu can be accused of selective rescue and attention.
Now people who want to write articles and get readers to forget history will interpret things in seductive ways and everybody who does not want to pay attention to the specifics of history says that they are making sense.
The most concerning thing to me is that we don’t act as if we are the same country and we cast aspersions casually on our fellow Nigerians, presenting ourselves as superior, ignoring problematic specifics. Yes, numerically, there are more kidnappings in the North. However, I believe that if numerically, there are more in the North, it is not because of elite behavior. It’s because for whatever reason that no one has bothered to research, the North is being targeted in this way. Just let’s hope that these kidnappers and whoever is sponsoring them don’t target the West.
People who want to read factual accounts should read this. It is long but it gives numbers and good analysis. Pages 8-10 gives you the info in brief: https://www.sbmintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202403_Mass-Abductions.pdf
