#BringBackOurGirls and lessons from #Kony2012

Dr. Anderson Uvie-Emegbo
| credits: File copy

Arresting Kony and other senior Lord Resistance Army leaders would reaffirm that those who commit mass atrocities will face justice. It will also help end the scourge of one of the most brutal rebel groups in Africa.”Anneke Van Woudenberg, Human Rights Watch, 2012

When the movie “Kony 2012” was released in March 2012, it had just one aim – to get Lord’s Resistance Army militia leader, indicted war criminal and fugitive, Joseph Kony, arrested and brought to justice before the end of 2012. His militia had over the years abducted hundreds of Ugandan boys and girls as child soldiers and sex slaves respectively. The movie had generated over 100 million fan interactions online by the end of 2012.

Thirty days since our schoolgirls at Chibok were abducted, the search, wait and blame game goes on while the families suffer.

The unequivocal request of our social media campaign – Bring Back Our Girls (#BringBackOurGirls) – has inspired the world. There has been an unprecedented outpouring of support online and on the streets of many countries. Presidents, First Ladies, Prime Ministers, religious leaders and statesmen continue to lend their voices and their placards to the campaign.

There is great cause for optimism at this time as just two days ago; Boko Haram released a video showing some of the girls – alive. Some of world’s best military teams have started providing much-needed intelligence and other ancillary support towards the rescue efforts. We must keep hope alive.

However, it will be a huge mistake to believe that the euphoria and attention this heinous abduction has generated will be sustained beyond a few weeks. Lets get back to the Kony story.

Just like #BringBackOurGirls, world leaders, celebrities and millions of people actively used social media to create a global buzz about #Kony2012.

Like Boko Haram, the LRA is spread across several countries – Northern Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

Unlike Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram, Joseph Kony is a recluse. While Shekau uses social media like a digital native, Kony barely communicates with the world. How do you find a man who does not want to be found and who is not an attention seeker? Even the multimillion-dollar bounty placed on his head by the United States has not persuaded any whistleblower to give up Kony’s location.

Two years down the line, the world has moved on beyond the #Kony2012 Campaign. The movie sold millions, funds were raised, and many exploited the campaign for their own profit. In someone’s pain is another’s gain, they say.

There is a limit to how long the world will stand with you in your moment of pain and loss.

What is the worth of our girls?

How long can we insist on the unconditional release of our girls? Boko Haram has offered to exchange our innocent girls for its members in our jails. What concessions are we ready to make? How long are we prepared to leave our girls in harm’s way? I strongly believe that no price is too great to get our girls back home. Even if we have to “reluctantly” set free some terrorists. Our religious and political overlords need to sheath their swords and help #BringBackOurGirls. Any other action will not be acceptable to the people of Chibok. It is better to aim for a 100% success using dialogue and than a 60 per cent probability using a “Rambo” style approach.

A viral campaign alone is not enough

The current global spotlight over this issue will not last. The world’s attention will soon be diverted to disasters that will arise in other parts of the world. The movie Kony 2012 was so famous online that Time magazine named it the most viral video ever.  In late 2011, President Obama authorised tens of military advisers to provide “information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces of Central African countries” to “remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield”. Kony is still at large and the now about 28-year-old conflict shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Military force,  though welcome, is not always effective.

Boko Haram is watching our campaign intently and has responded following the pressure. Over the past four plus years, Boko Haram has demonstrated its new media sagacity by creating tons of relevant multimedia content. It continues to shape the narrative. At the end of the #Kony2012 campaign, some opponents criticized it as being over simplistic and a naive effort to “elevate a common criminal and failed provincial politician” to global acclaim which might embolden the terrorist in him. Lets not thread this path.

The Nigerian government should reset its information management button in an authentic, believable and credible manner. Criticism of its actions is not synonymous with opposition and applause does not imply love. All efforts should be galvanized towards unifying Nigerians against our common enemy. This indeed is a defining moment in the war against Boko Haram. The Nigeria government needs to seize back the narrative. Nigerians need hope – give us reasons to hope again! We must sustain the #BringBackOurGirls campaign’s momentum for it is not over until it is over.

The national question

It is time for an urgent and holistic approach to handling not just the Boko Haram insurgency but also all other threats to our national commonwealth. The question is: Do we have the courage to work together to achieve this objective irrespective of our religious, ethnic, gender, socio-economic and political differences?

The story of #BringBackOurGirls will be incomplete without discussing the role social media played. We have had #OccupyNigeria – and it came and went. We must use social media to drive heartfelt constructive discussions about Nigeria. However we must also act offline to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable in the fight against corruption, social inequality and injustice. It is time we distribute our commonwealth more equitably before chaos is unleashed exponentially in Nigeria. Can you confidently say like Timi Dakolo in the song, Great Nation that:

“We’re all we have, we’ll defend our land. We believe in Nigeria and the promise she holds.”