Let Love Into Your Hearts Again. R.I.P #Aluu4

I recall the horror washing over me when I watched the #Aluu4 video over a year ago.

I recall the helplessness on their faces as they were dragged and beaten and mocked and tortured by a mob.

I recall the hope in their eyes that perhaps, just perhaps, a miracle would occur and ONE person would step in and save them.

I recall the painfully outstretched hands pleading for mercy and begging for their lives to be spared.

I recall the rage, venom and madness that overtook the murderous crowd as they pummeled these young men to death.

I recall imagining what their parents would go through, knowing “fellow Nigerians” murdered their children in cold blood.

Abduction and Rape: The New Weapons of Terrorism #BringBackOurGirls

“I want to challenge the phrase "married off." Don't you think it's euphemistic? These girls have been violently abducted, and these "marriages" are actually rapes and imprisonments.” – A comment by ‘Perpetual Dawn’ on the New York Times’ Editorial of May 7, 2014 titled “Nigeria’s Stolen Girls”

Nothing succinctly captures the tragedy of Nigeria’s stolen girls than the quote reproduced above. We all are aware that violence in the north has been raging for sometime but has increased in popularity when on the night of April 14/15, about 300 girls were abducted from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State and three weeks after while the nation was still working on rescuing the girls, no fewer than 8 girls were again kidnapped. This, combined with the effortless inaction of the government prompted Nigerians to raise their voices against these outrages. It fueled a strong social media campaign which started with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls and also protests all over the nation. This made headlines around the world and as such gained the attention of the international communities who are now partly a major source of support to the cause.