#ChibokGirls: 1000 Days On -By Aliyyah Yesufu

Aliyyah Yesufu

Not a single day goes by without me thinking of the Chibok Girls, whether I want to or not. For a thousand days they have silently hoped and prayed that their next day will be their last day in captivity, that the nightmare they currently live in will be over.

Every day I get closer to writing my final exam I become more of a Chibok girl, as I was them 1000 days ago on April 14th 2014 preparing for their exams. The Chibok girls were preparing to break their shackles of outright poverty and to gain a voice in a country where the poor are voiceless, nameless and faceless.

The parents of the Chibok Girls still left in captivity have died a thousand deaths every day for a thousand days, even more when they see other parents being reunited with their daughters and they are left to imagine what life with their daughter would be like when they return. The Chibok girls still left in captivity are hoping that the next day will be their day to be rescued or the day that they would escape captivity.
A thousand days ago no-one thought we would be here demanding for our Chibok girls, and they never thought they would be left in captivity for a thousand days. We have stood for a thousand and have endured the worst of name calling and insult, but here we are still demanding and will only stop when every single Chibok girl is brought back and accounted for.

For a thousand days the Chibok girls have been a symbol of the struggle of the girl child trying to gain an education, and working against the odds stacked against her. As we say at the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, “the fight for the Chibok Girl is the fight for the soul of Nigeria.” The BBOG campaign is the symbol of Nigerian humanity as it shows we can unite as a nation with all differences put aside and fight for the rights of the Chibok Girls.

A thousand days has passed but hopefully not a thousand day more will pass until every Chibok girl is accounted for, and reunited with their families, until then every single person is in captivity.

Aliyyah Yesufu, an SS2 Student (15 years old)