Nigeria Won’t Bring Back the Missing Girls

Almost a month ago, I found out that a boarding school in Northern Nigeria had been raided, and more than 200 girls were missing. I was in a boarding school once, and I remember the setting all too well. Everything is regimented and as a young girl clinging to the bible that dictates every ounce of your survival, you quickly learn that there is strength in numbers.

I experienced the drama when I was carted off to a school situated in the wilds of the Northern desert at the tender age of twelve. My mother was inconsolable, my father indifferent, and I was just plain excited. After years of being under the tutelage of my overbearing parents, Federal Government Girls College, New Bussa, seemed like a godsend. For the most part, I was literally running wild with my comrades and exasperated seniors. But by the end of the term, there was a riot that resulted in the ousting of the British principal and the end of a regime that forced us to abruptly vacate the premises.

I was lucky enough to be cool with older girls who miraculously lived in the same housing estate and recognized me. We hurriedly grabbed whatever belongings we could gather and hopped on a cargo train back to Lagos, Nigeria. I still remember watching the plague of the fireflies through the bars that served as windows as we were whisked past a plethora of towns. I was too exhausted to care about the harsh wind beating against my cheeks, but I was alert enough to wonder how an American born citizen could end up sandwiched amongst humans and livestock.