Murtala Muhammed’s Daughter Releases Book On Abducted Chibok Girls

A daughter of the late Nigerian Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, has authored a book in honour of the abducted Chibok school girls.

She wrote the book through her Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO), Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF).

Mrs Muhammed-Oyebode, who is a development specialist, said the book was issued to mark the ninth year of the abduction of the school girls in Borno State in 2014.

She said women and girls, particularly in Nigeria, need security, education and a better future.

She said the book, titled ‘The Stolen Daughters of Chibok”, was released on 4 April in New York, United States of America (USA) by PowerHouse Books Inc and is being released internationally.

276 school girls were abducted from their school by Boko Haram in Chibok in 2014.

Muhammed-Oyebode said the book collected their families’ testimonies of loss and hope beginning in 2015 before any of the girls was found.

“As a collection of narratives, the book is a call to action for the restoration of balance in Nigeria’s Chibok community. It features photographs by award-winning photographer Akintunde Akinleye, interviews with the families, and chapters and excerpts by a team of experts, including journalists and psychologists, who have collaborated to create a comprehensive account and thorough examination of this tragedy,” she stated.

“The foreword for the book is written by the Chairman Board of Trustees of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation Former President Olusegun Obasanjo with essays on violence, gender, and more from writers, novelists, academics, public figures, including Nobel Laurette Professor Wole Soyinka, Mozambique and South Africa’s former first lady, Graça Machel-Mandela, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, Bishop Mathew Kukah, Professor Femi Oyebode and beyond. The result is a heart-rending portrayal of the cost of this tragedy, which has touched the lives of communities in Nigeria and across the globe,” she said

Muhammed-Oyebode said that her foundation is determined to work with partners to improve the status of women and girls, prioritising safety, education, and economic opportunity.