Sixty-eight Chibok girls currently studying at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) received laptop computers donated by British journalist and humanitarian, Isha Sesay, as part of the 11th-anniversary commemoration of the 2014 schoolgirl abduction.
The donation ceremony, held at AUN’s Yola campus, formed the emotional climax of the university’s event to remember the night that shook the nation, when over 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents.
Sesay, who has been a vocal advocate for the girls since the abduction, announced the donation during a Zoom meeting on January 29.
In her message of encouragement, she told the girls: “You are not defined by the darkness of your past. These tools are keys to unlocking your potential – proof that the world believes in your future.”
The laptops, she explained, were not merely gadgets but a symbol of global solidarity, resilience, and the unbroken will to learn, grow, and lead.
Speaking during the ceremony, AUN President, Dr. Dewayne Frazier, redefined the identity of the girls, challenging the lingering perception of them as perpetual victims.
“These are not the ‘Chibok girls’ frozen in time as victims,” he said. “They are Chibok women – mothers, students, sisters, and role models. They are scholars shaping their destinies, thriving within our AUN family and beyond.”
Frazier emphasised that the abduction was not just an attack on individuals but on the idea of education itself.
“That night in 2014, terrorists targeted not a religion, but education. Their crime was hatred for progress, for light. Yet here, a decade later, education triumphs.”
The ceremony also served as a moment to recognise the coalition of supporters who have consistently stood with the girls, including the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Stephen Basari, and Aisha Bugu of the Yulish Bugu Foundation, among others.
“Life has no rearview mirror,” Frazier said. “The future is yours to shape. We will never cease fighting until every survivor is home, educated, and empowered.”
