Thousands of Innocent Nigerians Suffer Silent Deaths

PAULA KIRYA
Staff Writer

According to Amnesty International, the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is currently performing its “deadliest massacre” so far, yet nobody seems to notice. BBC reports that Boko Haram has been actively violent since 2009, causing the deaths of thousands of citizens living in Nigeria. When #BringBackOurGirls began trending online, informing the public of Boko Haram’s kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, people actually started to notice their crimes. Yet even that eventually drifted away from public attention.

Although the Charlie Hebdo attack was tragic, it is troubling how 3.7 million people would march in the streets of Paris for 17 people, yet fail to recognize the massacre of thousands who were burned alive, shot, drowned and hunted. It seems that society has decided that some lives are worth more than others because of their positions in life and it has gotten to the point that we do not even realize it. As stated by Simon Allison of the Daily Maverick, “African lives are still deemed less newsworthy—and, by implication, less valuable—than western lives.”

Developed countries have been sending volunteers, troops and money, only to see that much of Africa has practically maintained its original state of corruption and poverty, making people wonder why the Nigerians cannot just help themselves. It is agreeable that African countries have not progressed as expected over the years despite the resources that have been provided to them.. However, citizens lack the political and educational advancements that would enable them to fix their government. It is hard for people to think of advancing when their community is being bombarded with explosives. However, if western countries collaborated with African countries more actively in their fight against terrorism, Africa could be a more peaceful place.