In 2014, Obiageli Ezekwesili, a Nigerian activist and one of the co-founders of Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization delivered a speech at the opening ceremony for a UNESCO event honoring the city of Port Harcourt as the 2014 World Book Capital city. In her speech she urged Nigerians to do everything in their power to “bring back our girls.” The hashtag #bringbackourgirls, which was first tweeted by Ibrahim M Abdullahi, a lawyer in Nigeria, soon spread like wildfire, with celebrities and Michelle Obama contributing to the call for action.
Now Ezekwesili has called on President Obama to help find the girls abducted in Northern Nigeria by Islamist group Boko Haram.
Ezekwesili, who was recently named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine met with Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., at the TIME 100 Gala in New York City yesterday.
“It is time for someone as powerful as Barack Obama to compare the girls of Chibok to his own daughters,” Ezekwesili said. “These girls are a symbol of our own message to girls, that they should be educated, that we would go beyond the call of duty for you.”
Ezekwesili recently sat with CNN’s Christian Purefoy to look back at what has happened one year since activists called for international intervention in Northern Nigeria. Her voice full of emotion, she expressed anger, but also hope that the abducted girls will one day, be reunited with their families.
One thought on “Nigerian Activist Obiageli Ezekwesili Calls on President Obama To Increase Efforts To #BringBackOurGirls.”