The whole of Nigeria and the whole world continues to ask that the Federal Government of Nigeria do more to #BringBackOurGirls who were abducted on school premises in Chibok, Borno State in Nigeria on the 14th of April 2014.
Today is the 22nd day since the girls have been abducted and social media continues to put relentless pressure and raise awareness for the cause. An infographic created by @subomiplumptre shows that there has been a total reach of about 371 million people and impressions have been made on 1.2 billion people.
According to the infographic, some of the more interesting places where #BringBackOurGirls is active are Krasnoyarsk (Russia), Shinjuku (Japan), and Causeway Bay (HK). Other places #BringBackOurGirls is active are Guarapuava (Brazil), Havana (Cuba) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
Just as much as the word is getting out there, social media is determined to put enough pressure to get the government to act. This is perhaps the biggest solidarity that social media as a whole has seen in history. We hope this is enough to spur the Nigerian government into action while also helping to get aid from foreign bodies as well as a better hold on security in Nigeria.
Sadly a few minutes ago, BBC Africa tweeted that a school in a suburb of Nigeria’s capital (Abuja) confirmed that gunmen entered the school this morning and took a bus. But thankfully no one was abducted.
A school in a suburb of Nigeria’s capital has confirmed that gunmen entered the school this morning and took a bus. But no one was abducted.
— BBC Africa (@BBCAfrica) May 6, 2014
There are speculations that this is more of a robbery that an act of terrorism. Twitter has helped to keep focus on this national issue. We hope that the government sees how much power social media has and is spurred into action. It is time to #BringBackOurGirls
In the past seven days the hashtag has been used more than 850,000 times, including by users such as Hillary Clinton and Amy Poehler, who is using her Smart Girls organization to host a live chat on Tuesday about the abduction of the students. Kerry Washington, Russell Simmons, Forrest Whitaker, Keri Hilson, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Sophia Bush, Janelle Monae and Mia Farrow are among the celebrities who have tweeted in support of the cause.
Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old women and children’s rights activist from Pakistan, also tweeted her support for the cause through her organization, the Malala Foundation. Malala Yousafzai survived an attack by a Taliban gunman who shot her for speaking out in support of educating girls in Pakistan.
Social media is a big part of the rescue of these girls and we deeply hope that the #BringBackOurGirls movement continues to gather strength.
Leave a Reply