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| This is not just Nigeria's war on terrorists – it's the world's fight too | This is not just Nigeria's war on terrorists – it's the world's fight too |
| (3 days later) | |
| When the news filtered out last month that a number of schoolgirls sitting for exams had been abducted from a school in north-east Nigeria, the world was broadly silent. | When the news filtered out last month that a number of schoolgirls sitting for exams had been abducted from a school in north-east Nigeria, the world was broadly silent. |
| Not many people could have predicted that, a few weeks later, everyone from Michelle Obama to David Cameron and Chris Brown would be hashtagging their plight. | Not many people could have predicted that, a few weeks later, everyone from Michelle Obama to David Cameron and Chris Brown would be hashtagging their plight. |
| Nigeria has been battling with this extreme form of violent fanaticism for more than a decade. Thousands have been murdered this year alone – children, teachers and innocent civilians. Scores of policemen and women, soldiers and security workers have also lost their lives trying to protect communities. | Nigeria has been battling with this extreme form of violent fanaticism for more than a decade. Thousands have been murdered this year alone – children, teachers and innocent civilians. Scores of policemen and women, soldiers and security workers have also lost their lives trying to protect communities. |
| Just a year ago, the Nigerian government was being criticised for taking a hard line against Boko Haram. We hope that now the world understands how barbaric and dangerous this group is. | Just a year ago, the Nigerian government was being criticised for taking a hard line against Boko Haram. We hope that now the world understands how barbaric and dangerous this group is. |
| As President Goodluck Jonathan has avowed, the abduction of the girls from the school in Chibok is a turning point in the battle against terrorism in Nigeria. | As President Goodluck Jonathan has avowed, the abduction of the girls from the school in Chibok is a turning point in the battle against terrorism in Nigeria. |
| With assistance from the international community, the private and public sector and the rest of us who are committed to vigorously defending the right of girls to an education, we can overcome this challenge. Africa is facing a real and present danger from radical ideology and terror networks. With an increasingly youthful population pouring into labour markets, the challenge is to create healthy and secure environments, as well as the jobs and opportunities that will engage young Africans in meaningful, creative and dignified lives. | With assistance from the international community, the private and public sector and the rest of us who are committed to vigorously defending the right of girls to an education, we can overcome this challenge. Africa is facing a real and present danger from radical ideology and terror networks. With an increasingly youthful population pouring into labour markets, the challenge is to create healthy and secure environments, as well as the jobs and opportunities that will engage young Africans in meaningful, creative and dignified lives. |
| My government is developing a policy, the presidential initiative on the north-east (PINE), to revitalise the economy of the region. The safe schools initiative was launched during the Africa edition of the World Economic Forum in Abuja, which has just concluded and whose theme, "forging inclusive growth", speaks to the reasons why we must resolve to advocate and agitate for a better future. | My government is developing a policy, the presidential initiative on the north-east (PINE), to revitalise the economy of the region. The safe schools initiative was launched during the Africa edition of the World Economic Forum in Abuja, which has just concluded and whose theme, "forging inclusive growth", speaks to the reasons why we must resolve to advocate and agitate for a better future. |
| Nigeria stands on the threshold of real progress. Last month, Nigeria was officially confirmed as the largest economy in Africa, when our gross domestic product was rebased to $510bn (£301bn) in 2013, up from $270bn. With annual growth rates of 7% in the last decade, Nigeria is increasingly in the eye of investors. McKinsey's latest analysis, Nigeria's Renewal, spells it out succinctly: "Growth in four key sectors could result in additional GDP of more than $500bn in 2030." | Nigeria stands on the threshold of real progress. Last month, Nigeria was officially confirmed as the largest economy in Africa, when our gross domestic product was rebased to $510bn (£301bn) in 2013, up from $270bn. With annual growth rates of 7% in the last decade, Nigeria is increasingly in the eye of investors. McKinsey's latest analysis, Nigeria's Renewal, spells it out succinctly: "Growth in four key sectors could result in additional GDP of more than $500bn in 2030." |
| It is our demographic dividend that fuels so much optimism. Nigeria's consuming class could grow to 160 million in 2030, out of a population of 273 million – "more consumers than the current populations of France and Germany combined", the report notes. | It is our demographic dividend that fuels so much optimism. Nigeria's consuming class could grow to 160 million in 2030, out of a population of 273 million – "more consumers than the current populations of France and Germany combined", the report notes. |
| Of course, our robust demographics also contain a disaster scenario – the one where we are unable to meet the basic social needs of that rapidly growing and youthful population, leaving millions vulnerable and alienated from society. | Of course, our robust demographics also contain a disaster scenario – the one where we are unable to meet the basic social needs of that rapidly growing and youthful population, leaving millions vulnerable and alienated from society. |
| The world cannot afford for Nigeria to go down that road – we remain the best hope for a sustained, sustainable economic renaissance on the continent. We have too much talent, too many abundant natural and mineral resources. Yes, we have heard all this before, but we must be consistent and insistent in our optimism. | The world cannot afford for Nigeria to go down that road – we remain the best hope for a sustained, sustainable economic renaissance on the continent. We have too much talent, too many abundant natural and mineral resources. Yes, we have heard all this before, but we must be consistent and insistent in our optimism. |
| While we redouble our efforts to find solutions to the challenges that make radical ideologies attractive to those who feel dispossessed or forgotten, the focus must now be on our collective efforts to rescue the Chibok girls and send an unequivocal message that the world is united against any atavistic ideology that seeks to enslave any member of society, male or female. | While we redouble our efforts to find solutions to the challenges that make radical ideologies attractive to those who feel dispossessed or forgotten, the focus must now be on our collective efforts to rescue the Chibok girls and send an unequivocal message that the world is united against any atavistic ideology that seeks to enslave any member of society, male or female. |
| In the end, there is much to be remorseful and angry about in all this, but there is also something reassuring – that the tragic plight of schoolgirls in a remote community in a corner of Africa can still attract the attention of a hyperactive world and appeal to the common humanity in all of us. | In the end, there is much to be remorseful and angry about in all this, but there is also something reassuring – that the tragic plight of schoolgirls in a remote community in a corner of Africa can still attract the attention of a hyperactive world and appeal to the common humanity in all of us. |
| Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr is senior special assistant to President Goodwill Jonathan on media and civil society. |