Nigeria is currently on red alert. More than two weeks ago over 200 young school girls were kidnapped by Islamic extremists in the country.
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The kidnapping has received very little attention by way of international media coverage. To change this, Nigerians have taken to social media to bring the issue to the world stage.
Nigerian citizens are also using social media to air their unhappiness at the government’s efforts to secure a safe return for the hostages. According to various media reports, the girls could have been taken as brides for terror leaders and will be part of a mass wedding or they will be used as sex slaves.
The concerns and fears for the safety of the girls has resulted in the creation of the hashtag #bringbackourgirls. Nigerians have been using the hashtag for the last week to highlight the issue as well as challenge the government to return the girls safely to their homes.
All we’re asking for is that those teenage girls (and ALL citizens) get what the State owes them – security of life. #BringBackOurGirls
— #BringBackOurGirls (@gbengasesan) May 2, 2014
We as the general public do not need to know the names of the Chibok girls, we need to know they have been rescued. #BringBackOurGirls
— Akin Akíntáyọ̀ (@forakin) May 2, 2014
Let’s honour the families of the girls who were abducted by focusing on creating a future that’s better for ALL girls. #BringBackOurGirls
— Spectra Speaks (@spectraspeaks) May 2, 2014
The hashtag has caught the attention of the rest of the continent and the world. Prominent Twitter accounts such as the Nelson Mandela Foundation have also used their social media properties to highlight the cause.
“For every woman & girl violently attacked, we reduce our humanity” #BringBackOurGirls #NelsonMandela http://t.co/nUIF3kCY9M
— NelsonMandela (@NelsonMandela) May 2, 2014
Hollywood celebrities have also joined in.
It’s been two weeks since the kidnapping of 234 Nigerian girls and they still aren’t home #bringbackourgirls pic.twitter.com/8OiC5GJPrc
— Mary J. Blige (@maryjblige) April 30, 2014
#BringBackOurGirls (3/3) pic.twitter.com/Jc7OVehq6y
— Chris Brown (@chrisbrown) May 1, 2014
According to Nigerian writer and media activist Spectra Speaks, hashtags such as these are incredibly important as “a convening tool”.
“It’s giving people all across Nigeria, and the world, a chance to lend their voices to helping spread awareness of the situation not just the abducted girls, but many girls around the world are facing, including both access to education and threats to their safety and livelihoods for seeking it,” she says.
According to social media analytics site Topsy, the hashtag has been mentioned close to half a million times on Twitter in the last week. The tag hit its peak a few days ago with a tweet from popular American singer Chris Brown, which has been retweeted a few thousand times.
“Social media is a tool. Much like the radio or TV, or any other news channel or platform for conversation, it can be a powerful channel for raising awareness, sparking critical dialogue, and even inciting people to action,” Spectra argues.
As a media tool, social media is viral in nature and ideal to raise awareness for an issue as important as this. For the Nigerian writer, the question of purpose must be posed to those using the hashtag:
If #BringBackOurGirls seeks to raise awareness, I ask, to what purpose? Who are people speaking to? And what do we want them to do? Not everyone may agree on this, and that’s okay. When I started using the hashtag, it was to engage with the activists and campaign producers who were already using it — and my main purpose was to encourage people using it/following the stream to take this opportunity to call attention to the plight of the 14-million living in poverty in Northern Nigeria, many who don’t even have the privilege of attending school.
Many Twitter users have contributed from across the world, asking for more media to give attention to the story in the hope that this will push the Nigerian government into acting on the issue.
#bringbackourgirls Calling on SA entertainment industry. Let us make noise about this issue. For more info email admin@rosiemotene.biz
— Rosie Motene (@PrincessRTM) May 2, 2014
If you do anything today.. sign this ~> http://t.co/cPSrnCBrta 200 Nigerian school girls kidnapped. #BringBackOurGirls Please sign & RT #NOW
— Derek Hale (@PimpingHale) May 2, 2014
Nigeria’s self appointed “good governance and public accountability” organisation Enough is Enough has organised a series of protests in the hopes of gaining more awareness for the problem beyond social media.
For most Nigerians, this hashtag is much more than bringing the missing the girls home safely. It taps into a more dangerous problem in a country that is on the verge of losing what is left of its civil liberties.
