With many Nigerians taking to the streets in support of the female students who were abducted from Chibok’s Government Secondary School in April, home-grown, grassroots organizations, such as Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE), have taken the lead in effectively mobilizing youth who demand more from the Nigerian government. Starting with an op-ed from EiE’s Community Relations Manager Ijeoma Mba (pictured below) that delineated how this year’s Children’s Day celebrations in Nigeria were filled with both prayer and protest on Tuesday, Mba spoke with Face2Face Africa further in order to give greater insight in to what the organization’s initiatives are as well as explain why they stand for the youth of Nigeria when they tell the government that “enough is enough.”
RELATED: #BringBackOurGirls Day 43: Children’s Day in Nigeria Takes Somber Turn
Face2Face Africa: What is Enough is Enough?
Ijeoma Mba: Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) is a coalition of individuals and youth-led
We are non-partisan nor are we a platform for the actualization of any individual’s political ambitions.
Our goal is to mobilize 10 million young people to be actively engaged in the electoral process by 2015.
F2FA: What events or initiatives has EiE been involved in since the girls were abducted?
IM: One of the key contributions of EiE to this process was coordinating the Citizens Solutions to End Terrorism. Over two days, over 1,000 tweets were curated and summarized into 10 action points: http://eienigeria.org/
EiE has attended various protests and participated in various working groups to better promote the need for government accountability in assuring the safety of its citizens. EiE has been working diligently to make sure this crisis is not forgotten and that work is actually being done to recover the girls from their captors.
F2FA: Can you explain EiE’s involvement with the global #BringBackOurGirls events?
IM: EiE is part of a loose coalition – Women for Peace & Justice – who are committed to keeping the issue on the front burner until our girls have been brought back.
We have leveraged our strong online presence — (eienigeria.org and shineyoure
We actively worked to ensure that #BringBackOurGirls was not overshadowed by the World Economic Forum (#WEFAfrica).
RELATED: Why #BringBackOurGirls Is More Important Than WEF Africa
We have been concerned about the state of insecurity in the northern part of the country, especially our government’s disdain for human lives. We talk about names and stories not numbers. To document this narrative, we created www.governi.ng, but we have been unsuccessful in curating information.
We consistently encourage civic engagement to boost government accountability. We also mobilize people to get involved in protests and events in their community to bring attention to issues.
F2FA: Tell us about the Global Days of Action; how long will the event last?
IM: Global Days of Action ends on May 30th, by then we hope our girls will be back. We started the Global Days of Action as part of a 10-day campaign to continue to engage the world in supporting and demanding the release of our missing girls.
However, we will continue our advocacy and activism efforts until the girls are brought back, and if we need to start another round of global actions, we’ll do so.
F2FA: What events will happen throughout the campaign?
IM: The Global Days of Action activities include accountability marches, faith in action events, and engagement with government officials.
The schedule of events is below:
F2FA: How is the community getting involved?
IM: The community is getting involved by participating in #BringBackOurGirls events and continuing to appeal to their elected officials and the military to do all they can to bring our girls back.
F2FA: Are Nigerians hopeful that the girls will be returned home?
IM: Nigerians are hopeful. We believe that with the work of our elected officials, the military, and support from friendly countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, the girls will be brought home.
F2FA: How do most or many Nigerians see President Goodluck Jonathan’s efforts?
IM: Most Nigerians see President Jonathan’s efforts as very late and insensitive. Most want to see more from the President, for example:
RELATED: Amid Criticism, Jonathan Cancels Visit to Chibok
F2FA: What can we do to help the cause?
IM: Continue to promote #BringBackOurGirls causes by making appeals to government officials and decision-making bodies to ensure the issue stays front and center in everyone’s minds.
See photos from Enough is Enough’s Children’s Day events on Tuesday here:
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