Jinkai Yama…Lyndia Simon…Deborah Abari…Ester Josha…Naomi Bitrus…Awa Bitrus…Glory Yaga…Maryamu Yakubu…Talata Daniel…Mairama Abubakar…Naomi Luka…Helen Musa…Mary Paul…Hauwa Peter…Rebecca Joseph…Ihyi Abdu…Sicker Abdul…180 names called out over a bullhorn at the UNICEF office in Ikoyi.
Iya yi to,
Iya yi to o, President.
Koba wa la ra mu!
(Suffering is too much, Suffering is too much, Mr. President. We had enough.)
With each foot step, each name gathers weight. A first name, a last name. We meet each girl. She is a person with a name; her name. She is present. We march solemnly.
“We no go gree o.
We no go gree, until you Bring Back Our Girls!
We no go tire o!”
Rahila Yahanna…Christina Bitrus…Yana Pogu…Naomi Adamu…Halima Gamba…
BRING BACK OUR GIRLS
Five days in May:
May 5th… Abuja, Lagos march
May 7th…US to send troops to search for kidnapped girls.
May 7th…Boko Haram raids Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, 200 massacred, 11 girls kidnapped
May 8th…Boko Haram bombs bridge in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, that linking Nigeria and Cameroon – 30 killed
May 8th…France, China, Britain joins search for kidnapped girls.
May 9th…Rumors that girls are bargained for a prisoner trade.
May 9th…Kaduna, Ibadan, Imo, Lagos, and Borno State march
nomad4now 
It is terrific you are staying on this, and that Nigeria is getting so much publicity and assistance for the problem. What the world needs to know is that stolen people is a terrible problem in much of Africa and other parts of the world.
Dear Paula,
Thank you for your reply. I hope to have an article come out about the wider problem of abduction and slavery in Africa. You are right, this problem is wide and deep. It is time, past time to do something!
L.
Beautifully written but that does not deny the fact of this humanitarian calamity. Unfortunately, extremist groups are becoming a questionable phenomenon in the global arena. Surprisingly, these groups are religiously affiliated in a very wrong way. Boko Haram is setting the rule and the exception at the same time. In a country like Nigeria that has a tremendous hegemonical power (militarily and economically) in Africa how can such a radical group survived for so many years without an action plan to end its activity!
Yes, the human and economic toll is huge. The kidnapping of the girls got international attention but the fact remains that villages, schools, banks, farms have been targeted for years…50 boys burnt to death in a school, 300 villagers killed, banks robbed, police stations attacked…nothing has shook at the fiber of the politicians until now when international outcry has MADE them DO something. There are many issues here why this has not been addressed…corruption, education, apathy, economics, sympathizers in power, etc, etc. Unfortunately, the radicalness feeds the very poor. Radicals provide food and a purpose and these people feel empowered. Military can go in and wipe out the problem today but there are waves and waves of poor, undernourished, uneducated people that can barely survive and radicalism feeds them. Also there is support for radicalism in pockets of power. It is complicated. L.