Ten years ago today, 276 girls were abducted in the night from their school in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria. The attack by Boko Haram pricked the conscience of the world. From London to Washington, protesters held placards reading #BringBackOurGirls--the hashtag the girls' families had posted to pressure their idle government into action.
Ten years ago today, 276 girls were abducted in the night from their school in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria . The attack by Boko Haram pricked the conscience of the world. From London to Washington, protesters held placards reading #BringBackOurGirls--the hashtag the girls' families had posted to pressure their idle government into action. It would take almost three weeks for then- Nigeria n President Goodluck Jonathan even to make a public announcement. Critical time had been lost.
It begins with recognising the changing nature of the threat. Boko Haram translates to"Western Education is Forbidden" and reflects an ideological impetus as jihadi insurgents opposed to the very idea of a Nigerian state. Today, Boko Haram are splintered, and mass abductions are primarily the work of criminal gangs. There is no ideology here: kidnapping has become an illegal industry rewarded with ransoms. Within days of the Kaduna attack, the abductors were demanding 1 billion naira .
Some 63 per cent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. They are bearing the economic consequences of a failure by successive governments to get to grip on the Nigerian economy. Fiscal and monetary albatrosses have grounded the country's flight when surging demographics demand high economic growth to just maintain current standards of living.
Green shoots are now visible. In the first quarter of this year, foreign currency inflows have almost matched those for the whole of last year. A multi-billion forex backlog at the central bank has been cleared, giving foreign investors' confidence to invest in Africa's largest economy, safe in the knowledge they can repatriate earnings. The naira has begun to stabilize after its initial downward trend and has made huge gains against the dollar.
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