The British Nigerians leading the fight against Boko Haram

According to census records the number of number of people born in Nigeria now living in the UK doubled from 87,000 in 2001 to 191,000 in 2011. More significantly this number does not include the number of British Nigerians born in the UK.

In the absence of being able to vote in February young British Nigerians are raising their voices against what they say is the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle Boko Haram who threaten to redraw boundaries in the region.

Boko Haram

Militant grouo Boko Haram are blamed for killing thousands of people, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria. The 200 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the group last year made headlines around the world, and are still missing.

Earlier this month Boko Haram attacked the towns of Baga and Doron Baga. Satellite pictures released by Amnesty International showed the extent of destruction.

Boko Haram also committed one of it’s worst attacks when they laid siege to the town of Baga. Amnesty International estimates that up to 2,000 people lost their lives in the massacre but independent verification has been difficult. Most of the towns building were razed to the track and the town’s population of 10,000 displaced.

On Sunday hundreds of people protested outside the Nigerian embassy in London for action against terrorism. Organiser Akin Davies Jr told Channel 4 News: “It is important for the diaspora to use our voice and privilege to garner action from the press and our governments.”

Although British Nigerians are not eligible to vote in Nigeria, their contribution in recent years to the country may be better measured in dollars. In 2013 the World Bank counted remittance inflows into Nigeria at $21bn with almost $4bn of that coming from the UK.

Protesting on Saturday Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian born activist based in London, told Channel 4 News: “I’m here to speak as a Nigerian to demand that something should be done but also to understand why the Nigerian government has been quite ineffective in targeting Boko Haram and I think this is a bigger question that needs to be answered before the general election next month.”

‘Nigerian Lives Matter’

At the protest chants of “Nigerian Lives Matter” were followed by “We are with you Baga!” in response to the recent atrocities and the perceived lack of coverage from mainstream media outlets.

However organisers were not clear in what kind of action they want. London born Rukayah Sarumi, who did not attend the demo, said British Nigerians needed to act more strategically to pressure the Nigerian state into action.

She said: “The task for British Nigerians is to demand accountability and transparency from the Nigerian government. Why has the army been under resourced? Why has the response been so disorganised and slow? Protests like today are encouraging as they demonstrate passion and concern for Nigerians. However protests must be a tactic used to further a particular ask. We need a strategic response led by Nigeria but involving ECOWAS and other African Nations.”

British Nigerians have been trying to follow recent developments in Nigeria with the help of social media. Last year #BringBackOurGirls focused attention on the town of Chibok but even with Twitter there remains an information black hole.

Yadome Mandara who is from Borno State which is the region which includes both Chibok and Madaguiri where eight were killed on Saturday said: “We have over 3,000 displaced people in Borno state or even more because those are three month old statistics. There are many displaced from the villages who come into the capital and find refuge and it’s really devastating.”

“There is no insider information coming out from Borno state. Just yesterday there were 200 girls who were released but these were girls no one heard about. The international community only knew about what was happening in Chibok. Basically I believe there is lost information and information is being suppressed.”

Many of the young protestors on the streets on Sunday, were part of Nigeria’s British creative generation and included poets, DJs and writers.

Christine Oshunniyi, a fashion designer, told Channel 4 News “even though we are far away from Nigeria it matters no matter where you live, whether it’s UK or Paris, Nigerian lives matter with all our voices.”

“Usually when something bad happens that’s when we mobilise ourselves, but it’s good to have Nigeria at the forefront of our minds,” she added.

With Nigeria at war the loss of life at home is on the minds and hearts of Nigerians abroad.

Article written by Symeon Brown and Toby Bakare.