For years now, the northern part of Nigeria has not known peace. Every other day, the region is in the news, mostly for the death of its residents.

In the past, and even till date, the public believed that the killings had religious undertones, but investigations over time have shown that they are more ethnic than religion based.

With the advent of the Islamist Terrorist group Boko Haram, and more recently, ISWAP, the killings and violence have taken a whole new dimension. Entire villages have been razed down, men killed or forced into a war they would rather not be a part of while women and girls have been forcibly taken away from their families to act as wives and slaves to the terrorists.

In the beginning, and especially with the kidnap of the Chibok school girls, it appeared that the world was outraged and ready to help Nigeria end, not only her insurgency problem but also the ethnic wars that have engulfed the Northern region for so long.

Countries swung into action. The United States and France sent troops into the country to help find the girls. Britain, Canada, and China also pledged their support to the country. First lady Michelle Obama took to her Twitter page to share an image of herself holding a #BringBackOurGirls placard.

Women all over the world took to the streets to protest the abduction of the girls, demanding their immediate release. My friend and classmate started a petition on change.org that garnered over 1 million votes. It seemed that the North would finally experience peace.

Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls. -mo pic.twitter.com/glDKDotJRt — First Lady- Archived (@FLOTUS44) May 7, 2014

Unfortunately, less than 6 months after, the hype began to die out. The girls were not found, and for some macabre reason, it seemed that the powers that are in the country were not very interested in finding them. Till date, 113 of them are still missing, and the northern part of the country continues to battle with the terrorists.

But the terrorists are not the only group the north now has to do battle with. Armed bandits, Fulani herdsmen and ‘unknown armed men’ are now wrecking even more violence than the terrorists in that region. The Nigerian media, obviously tired of the continued violence has stopped reporting the daily massacres. Even the people living there seemed to have given up their protests to the government to do something.

Zamfara state seems to be the latest victims in the hands of these armed bandits, obviously, due to its goldmines. There have been repeated stories of kidnappings and killings by these criminal groups and yet, the government does not seem bothered enough to do something. Its solution so far has been to order for the closure of the goldmine as though that would automatically drive away the bandits. Some residents have taken the plea for help to social media in a bid to get the government’s attention.

This may have worked, as the Air Force has deployed 1300 troops to Zamfara and Benue states to contain the situation. Whether this latest move would yield positive results is yet to be seen.

Even as we contemplate the violence tearing the north apart, one question continues to scratch the surface like a desperate rat trying to get out of a trap. If the region could be secured for the elections, with millions coming out to vote, why can’t it enjoy that same security always? What purpose does continued violence in the North serve that no serious action has been taken over the years to restructure the region and ensure lasting peace there?

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