NIGERIA: A Nigerian social commentator says online campaigns by numerous celebrities demanding the release of 200 abducted schoolgirls are useful in raising awareness

Record ID: 236699

  • Title: NIGERIA: A Nigerian social commentator says online campaigns by numerous celebrities demanding the release of 200 abducted schoolgirls are useful in raising awareness
  • Date: 9th May 2014
  • Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (MAY 9, 2014) (REUTERS) DESKTOP SCREEN SHOT SHOWING VARIOUS HASHTAGS RELATING TO KIDNAPPED GIRLS 'FREE OUR GIRLS' TWITTER PAGE
  • Embargoed: 24th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Communications
  • Reuters ID: LVA500WZ8XNTMQEF9VAKVCTCIFJ2
  • Story Text: A Nigerian social commentator had high praise on Friday (May 9) for online campaigns calling for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militants.
    The attack has stirred global outrage and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's government has been criticised for its slow response to the hostage crisis since the abductions by Boko Haram militants.
    The hashtag "#Bring Back Our Girls" is believed to have been retweeted about 1.6 million times globally.
    One of the twitter pages that was specifically opened for this cause has over 40,000 followers.
    "The power of social media is awareness, it keeps the issue burning, it makes sure that, you know, we never forget. But then of course, things have to go beyond the social media, you know, on to the level of action, there is no doubting that fact," said social commentator Tolu Ogunlesi.
    Boko Haram's five-year-old insurgency is aimed at reviving a medieval Islamic caliphate in modern Nigeria, whose 170 million people are split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims, and it is becoming by far the biggest security threat to Africa's top oil producer.
    "You know I think the social media is very useful, by itself you know it's not enough but it is a big part of what we should be doing, concerning the girls in Chibok, and concerning Boko Haram," says Ogunlesi.
    Militants stormed a secondary school in the village of Chibok, near the Cameroon border, on April 14, and kidnapped the girls, who were taking exams at the time. Fifty have since escaped, but more than 200 remain with the insurgents.
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