On Tuesday, Hayes Brown, a blogger on international affairs with Think Progress, wrote a rather scathing piece on international attention to the #BringBackOurGirls “hashtag activism” movement.

The piece, entitled “How The World Quickly Stopped Caring About The Kidnapped Nigerian Girls, In Seven Charts” goes through internet searches and twitter mentions for terms such as “#BringBackOurGirls,” “Nigeria” and “Kidnapping” to conclude that as quickly as the Western World had become the 300 kidnapped girls’ biggest international advocates, it had forgotten their plight. The charts bore out the conclusion teased in the title, with a meteoric rise in mentions and searches followed by a steep drop-off.

Setting aside the potential conflict stemming from a member of the media, whose job is presumably to continually inform and update as well as analyze, decrying the public’s lack of attention span on such an issue, a larger question arises.

That question is, has the fall of public attention given leaders space to ignore the horrific kidnappings or have leaders dug in their heels and determined to do all they can to save the kidnapped girls whose only crime was wanting an education and a better life?

Fortunately, the answer is the latter. For his part, Brown acknowledges this fact, stating that “…despite the lagging interest, events continue apace in the pursuit of the girls and the efforts to rein in Boko Haram.”

Fierce Homeland Security went even further, stating that the safe return of the girls is “…now a major U.S. priority” and that “…Diplomatic and military officials testified May 15 during a Senate hearing that their agencies have devoted considerable attention and resources to [the issue].”

Robert Jackson, a deputy assistant secretary for African affairs at the state department told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee the resolution of the issue is “…one of the highest priorities of the U.S. Government.”

What, then, is being done to attempt to secure the release of the 300 girls?

The international efforts to “#BringBackOurGirls” have been largely military in nature as diplomatic efforts are complicated by the perverse incentive structure that surrounds negotiating with terrorists.

When Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau burst onto the scene in the West with a video where he threatened to sell the kidnapped girls for as little as $12 each, there were those that suggested simply paying the menial ransom.

This solution was quickly decried as a way to ensure that there would be more kidnappings. Simply put, while it may seem like the easy solution for these girls, it is never a good plan to make a terrorist organization believe they can get what they want through kidnapping or other violence.

This same incentive structure exists when members of the group suggested that the girls would be released only with the full release of all Boko Haram affiliated prisoners from government jails. Compliance would inevitably lead to more kidnappings.

This has led to an interesting backlash, by which Boko Haram may have been more likely to achieve its goals without resorting to this horrific crime.

Council on Foreign Relations terrorism expert Max Abrahms stated via Twitter on Monday that Boko Haram was “reportedly releasing hostages after realizing the kidnappings have been overwhelmingly counterproductive,” and on Tuesday, more generally, that “terrorism is very useful at lowering the odds that governments will make concessions to perpetrators.”

Wesley Wark, one of Canada’s leading experts on terrorism went even further, telling the Northumberland News that “…Boko Haram has overplayed its hand to the extent that it has engaged in something very, very self-destructive.”

He went on to say that the kidnappings will not “…win it any popular favor in any segment of Nigerian and global society,” and “they’re going to be in a battle of survival for their life from here on in.”

Despite the denials and reports of Boko Haram’s self-destruction, there are mixed reports on whether on-the-ground prisoner swap talks are actually taking place. Bloomberg has reported that the Nigerian government is considering all options, including a swap, while a source told the Nigerian Tribune that such talks are already taking place with some success.

Part of the reason for this is Boko Haram is demanding the release of their fighter’s wives and children along with low level fighters rather than high profile targets. While this still presents the incentive dilemma, it is on a much smaller scale.

While diplomatic actions are complicated by a difficult incentive structure and Boko Haram’s seeming self-destruction through such a horrific act, the international community has stepped up to contribute to military operations designed at locating the kidnapped girls.

The United States, for its part, is conducting aerial missions, both with manned aircrafts and drones, in an effort to find the location according to a Bloomberg report. Additionally, General David Rodriguez, the head of the US’ Africa Command, was in Nigeria last week, but was “not personally overseeing any search.” The UK, China and Israel have also offered assistance in finding the missing girls, but details of their involvement is currently unclear.

While the success of the efforts remains to be seen, much of the international community has decided that this particular crime is too heinous to let go, even if the public is largely moving on from the extraordinary attention it received last week. One can only hope that the continued focus paid by the international community can help Nigeria #BringBackOurGirls once and for all.

 

Andrew Friedman is a human rights attorney and consultant who works and writes on legal reform and constitutional law with an emphasis on Africa. He can be reached via email at afriedm2@gmail.com or via twitter @AndrewBFriedman.