Inside Story

Nigeria kidnap: Harming the nation’s image?

The abduction of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram overshadows World Economic Forum.

Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy is taking centre stage as it hosts the World Economic Forum.
 
But the Nigerian government is also facing global outrage over its response to the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the armed group Boko Haram.
 
The girls were snatched on April 14 as they slept at their boarding school in the remote border town of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria.
 
The leader of Boko Haram has threatened to sell them into slavery. It is the latest in a series of attacks and kidnappings carried out by the group.
 
Opening the World Economic Forum in Abuja, Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan thanked world and business leaders for attending.
 
He said: “Let me appreciate individually and collectively your support for us. By your presence here you have already supported us to win the war against terror. I believe the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end of terror in Nigeria.”
 
So is Boko Haram’s violent campaign hurting Nigeria’s international image? Or are global investors more interested in the nation’s economic potential?
 
Presenter: Mike Hanna
 
Guests

Ademola Abass – Head of Peace and Security at the United Nations University in Belgium.
 
Jonathan Offei-Ansah – publisher of AfricaBriefing, a pan-African news magazine.