The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria

Harvard Book Store welcomes the award-winning author of Oil on Water, Measuring Time, and Waiting for an Angel Helon Habila for a discussion of his latest book, The Chibok Girls: The Boko Haram Kidnappings and Islamist Militancy in Nigeria.

About The Chibok Girls:

On April 14, 2014, 276 girls from the Chibok Secondary School in northern Nigeria were kidnapped by Boko Haram, the world’s deadliest terrorist group. Most were never heard from again. Acclaimed Nigerian novelist Helon Habila, who grew up in northern Nigeria, returned to Chibok and gained intimate access to the families of the kidnapped to offer a devastating account of this tragedy that stunned the world. With compassion and deep understanding of historical context, Habila tells the stories of the girls and the anguish of their parents; chronicles the rise of Boko Haram and the Nigerian government’s inept response; and captures the indifference of the media and the international community whose attention has moved on.

Employing a fiction writer’s sensibility and a journalist’s curiosity, The Chibok Girls provides poignant portraits of everyday Nigerians whose lives have been transformed by extremist forces. Habila illuminates the long history of colonialism—and unmasks cultural and religious dynamics—that gave rise to the conflicts that have ravaged the region to this day.

Praise:

“Nigerian-born poet and novelist Habila seeks to remind the global community of the plight of the kidnapped girls. . . . an informative primer on Nigeria’s history of Islamist conflict and a passionate testimonial on behalf of the Chibok girls still missing.” —Kirkus

“A dispatch from the front lines . . . Habila incorporates vital background knowledge on the situation in Chibok and the surrounding area; as a poet, he adds sensitivity and eloquence, capturing the raw emotion of the wounded town.” —Publishers Weekly