When I asked one of the Chibok survivors what her AUN education meant to her, she said words that I shall always carry in my heart: “Education gives me the wings to fly, the power to fight, and the voice to speak.” Every child in Nigeria and in the world deserves to feel that way about their education. Will they?
The story of the Chibok women is one both of hope and continuing challenges. The problems are always reported by the press, and often inaccurately, but the truth about the Chibok women is far more positive and far more complicated.
Many of the Chibok women — and they are no longer ‘girls’ — are building successful and meaningful lives in Nigeria, in the United States, and other places around the world. One is working to become a nurse; one will graduate from one of America’s most elite colleges this May, with a 3.8 grade point average. They are accountants and working for NGOs and businesses. Some, not surprisingly, have struggled to rebuild their lives after the unimaginable trauma of being kidnapped, raped, forced into marriages and living in horrible conditions.
Their progress should be celebrated, and lessons learnt from their triumphs. Those victories did not happen by accident.
Educating girls, as the Chibok story shows us, is the most powerful tool Nigeria can use to improve individual lives and transform communities. When girls are educated through secondary school, they are healthier and wealthier. From all over the world we learn that economic growth increases, poverty is reduced, infant and child mortality declines, corruption is reduced, and societies are more peaceful through female education.
Many countries have made this sort of educational progress, and those citizens and societies have prospered. This has not been true in Nigeria, where the situation remains grim. According to UNICEF data, 50 per cent of Nigerian girls are not attending school at even the basic education level. About 48 per cent of out-of-school girls are in the North-East and North-West. These numbers are getting worse. Nigeria’s rapidly growing population –currently at 228 million, ranked 6th in the world — is doubling every 27 years. It is expected to reach close to 400 million by 2050. With a commitment to widespread and high-quality education for the girls and boys being born today, Nigeria could hit the half-century mark as a global leader. But the lack of educational commitment is very troubling. Without policy changes, there will be far fewer successful Chibok stories.
The American University of Nigeria will always be intertwined with the story of the Chibok students — with their progress and with their challenges. When, Dr Lionel Rawlins (chief of AUN security) and I drove at dawn to an area near Chibok on 30 August 2014, to bring the first students who had escaped their kidnappers to AUN, their futures were very uncertain. Could they adapt? Where would we put them? Who would pay for this? What kind of support would they need? And not the least, would we be able to make the journey through Boko Haram controlled areas safely?
Generous hands reached out immediately. Atiku Abubakar, the founder of AUN, never hesitated. When we spoke that morning, and I told him where we were and what we had done, besides being a bit surprised, his first words were: How can I help? Robert Smith, a wealthy and very generous American investor, called me early one morning out of the blue. He said: “You don’t know who I am, but I want to help pay for those girls’ education. I usually am calling people to say you can’t have my money. I am calling to say you should tell me what you need.”
I will never forget those words. They not only removed the burden of looking for money to educate and support these young women, but reconfirmed the generosity of the human spirit, exemplified by these two men. The AUN community lifted up these students. New classes were designed, emotional support provided. The AUN staff and faculty and the Yola community surrounded them with education, love, protection, and care. The whole village truly gave these women an education, their chance at a better life.
When I asked one of the Chibok survivors what her AUN education meant to her, she said words that I shall always carry in my heart: “Education gives me the wings to fly, the power to fight, and the voice to speak.” Every child in Nigeria and in the world deserves to feel that way about their education. Will they?
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Margee Ensign was the president of the American University of Nigeria from 2010-17 and 2021-22. She is currently the president of the American University in Bulgaria
