Members of the Chibok Parents Association have pleaded with the Federal Government not to forget the remaining 108 Chibok girls who are yet to be rescued from Boko Haram insurgents, News About Nigeria reports.
They made this plea at a film screening organised by the SAB Art Foundation and the CPA, titled ‘Statues Also Breathe’, in Lagos on Thursday.
Members of the Association urged the federal government not to relent in the search and rescue mission to bring back the girls, noting that much impact has not been made to this effect.
The film showcased the collaborative process of sculpting and remembrance of the remaining abducted girls by some of the rescued girls, including conversations with the artists, a representative of the CPA, and two of the rescued girls.
One of the parents of the Chibok girls, Yahi Bwata, recalled how 57 of the abducted girls leaped out of the truck of their captors in 2014.
He further noted that although the then-President, Goodluck Jonathan, intervened in the rescue mission, much impact was not made.
Another parent, the mother of one of the Chibok girls, Saratu Samuel, stated that the father of the abducted girl died because of the shock of her kidnapping and her prolonged absence.
“There are a lot of parents who are distressed, not knowing is perhaps the hardest thing. Her prayer is for everybody here who has a platform to continue ensuring that the story of the Chibok girls does not die. Thank you, everybody, for taking an interest, and please keep praying for their families,” she said.
Also speaking, visual artist and Associate Professor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Dr. Olusegun Fajuyigbe, disclosed that he collaborated with a French multidisciplinary artist, Prune Nourry and a Nigerian musician, Ade Bantu, to make the film possible.
Fajuyigbe said, ‘To the dismay of everyone, it looks like the remaining 108 girls have been forgotten, so the intention of Prune was to use the arts as a tool of social awareness, transformation, and to help shed more light on the issue.”
