On Wednesday, the abducted school girls from Government secondary school, Chibok in Borno state, would have been missing from their families and endured unimaginable atrocities at the hands of their their abductors, the Boko Haram sect, for one year. While some of the parents of the girls have died from anxiety and depression from their predicament,   for others, who are lucky to be alive, life has been hell without their daughters.

Some of the parents paid due respect to the #BringBackOurGirls group, as the only true representation of the cause of the remaining 219 Chibok girls after the federal government seemingly appears to have no clue as to the whereabout of the girls.

According to Samuel Yanga, father of Sarah Samuel, “We don’t have a link with the government and no one seems to think that we deserve to be talked to. Daily, we nurse our pains, and are inching towards hopelessness.”

Also, a devastated Esther Yakubu, mother of Dorcas Yakubu, one of the missing girls said, “The pain of missing a child is too much on me as a mother, yet my voice is meaningless. What have we done to them (the government) that they are (so) careless about us?”

Meanwhile, as part of the programmes to commemorate the one year anniversary of the missing girls, the BBOG is calling on the world to join the programme by adding their voices for their rescue so that these girls would not be forgotten.

The group, through its leaders, Oby Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman noted that “It took the outcry of everyone of us who have empathized with our #ChibokGirls from far and near for their tragedy to be acknowledged and responded to by our Government. Regrettably, the expected result of having them rescued and returned to their families has not yet been achieved.

“Our #ChibokGirls are the symbol for the defence of the dignity and sanctity of human life; of the girl child, women, for all those oppressed, repressed, disadvantaged, hurting, unsafe persons everywhere. We must all prioritise their safe return.”

As part of the programme, the BBOG has expressed worry over the continental spread of terrorism, which has come into sharp focus with the recent gruesome killings of students at a University in Kenya, noting that “We again express our heartfelt condolences and empathy to the loved ones of those who died at the Garissa University, Kenya terrorist attack; the survivors and indeed to the good people of Kenya.

“The Kenyan civil society and citizens have participated in several solidarity activities for our ChibokGirls in the last one year. We stand fully with you and pray that your nation and people would find comfort and peace as you grieve. We encourage the Government of Kenya in its effort to find the culprits and prosecute them as a deterrent to other such evil minded individuals across Africa. We demand that all the member countries of the Africa Union to immediately act collectively and prioritize cooperation to tackle and eradicated terrorism on the continent.

“We recall another tragedy that occurred on the early hours of the morning that same day – April 14, 2014 that our #ChibokGirls were abducted. That was the horrific terrorist bomb blast in Nyanya, fourteen kilometres from Abuja city centre which killed scores; leaving many with various degrees of injury. These victims and their loved ones are victims of terror like our #ChibokGirls. We gathered from investigation and contacts with a number of them that they feel neglected and abandoned by our government. We seize this opportunity to call the attention of our Government and the general public to their plight. We demand for justice for everyone of the affected victims of terrorism in our land.

Also, as part of the programme, the group will today have a tweet meet, which will be to rally and engage the online followers of the BBOG movement to converse on the progress so far made, the shortfalls, expectations and way forward.