The World Was in Our Hands
Voices from the Boko Haram Conflict
While the Boko Haram conflict has reached a certain level of culturation saturation, what is known about the conflict remains patchy. This collection, featuring interviews with 47 people of all genders, ages and a variety of religious backgrounds, foregrounds the realities of those who are living through the conflict and presenting the humanity of all concerned. Even as they discuss the conflict, their narratives also reflect realities beyond violence, making this an essential cultural archive. From age hierarchies and the culture of deference to elders to high levels of gender inequality and gender-based violence; from frustrations with government to unhappiness at community leaders who are seen as corrupt, politicised, and uncaring; and from the links and connections between people across national boundaries to how people mobilise to support one another, often at great personal danger.
Chitra Nagarajan is a journalist and writer who writes on climate change, conflict, feminism, foreign policy, migration, Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region, race and sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. She has written for The Guardian, New Humanist, New Internationalist, This is Africa and Ventures Africa and appeared on Sky News and the BBC World Service. She co-edited She Called Me Woman: Nigeria’s Queer Women Speak, a book of narratives published by Cassava Republic Press.
