Education
Four Nigerian women whose daughters were kidnapped by Boko Haram refused to give up on their dream of a better future for their children. Now they’re opening two factories.
Four Nigeria women whose daughters were abducted by Boko Haram in the infamous 2014 Chibok kidnapping set foot for the first time in two factories where they hope a new food line will help finance their families’ education.
Beaming with pride and dressed in colourful traditional gowns, they donned hairnets before entering the production area, where peanuts they cultivate at home are processed into peanut butter and products, and marketed under the new Mothers of Chibok label.
“If we just sit back and do nothing, if we stop sending our children to school and stop going to our farms, that would mean accepting what Boko Haram wants, which is that Western education should be forbidden,” said Yana Galang, 55, a mother of eight, including Rifkatu, who was abducted at the age of 18 and whom she has never seen again.
“The little money we have, we will spend it on nothing but our children’s education, sending them to the best schools.”
In 2014, the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, sparked international outrage and the global “BringBackOurGirls” campaign.
Some girls subsequently escaped, others were freed years later, some with children they had during captivity.
But 12 years on, around a hundred of the girls are still missing, leaving their families in constant anguish.
A Better Future
In Chibok, a poor farming village where residents primarily rely on growing maize, peanuts, millet and rice, the threat of attacks and kidnappings persists.
Boko Haram and its rival, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), still kidnap and terrorise local populations.
Nine women from Chibok are collaborating with Zenfix Nigeria, a company that sells peanuts and nut products, and Ajrena Foods, producer of the Nutzy peanut butter brand, very popular in Nigeria.
This partnership was supported by Joel Kachi Benson, director of the documentary “Mothers of Chibok,” released in theatres last week, which chronicles the lives of these mothers.
“I think the message is clear that evil will never triumph over good. And that these women are not broken. They might be grieving, but they’re not broken. And all they need really is the support, the collaboration, the encouragement,” said Benson, surrounded by the women.
Some don’t know if their daughters are even still alive.
Before the creation of Mothers of Chibok, their harvests were sold unprocessed to middlemen, generating meagre incomes. Today, their work has better value and they have a stable income.
The women’s peanut production increased from 15 100-kilogram bags to 27 bags between 2024 and 2025.
Maryam Ali Maiyanga, 28, a former high school student who was kidnapped and managed to escape in 2016, gazed at the labelled jars and bags.
Each product symbolises for her the promise of a different future for her nine-year-old son, Ali, born during her captivity from a forced marriage with a Boko Haram fighter.
“So if he grows up without education, he might decide to follow his father’s footsteps, especially considering the stigmatisation from people,” she said.
Inspiring other women
Ruth Kwakwe, 48, is happy to have been able to label some of the products herself during the visit. For the mother of 10, Mothers of Chibok also represents the demand for peace in Chibok.
“I’ve never left Chibok. I am not afraid anymore but even if I was, where would I go? We’ve been there (Chibok) this whole time,” said Kwakwe, whose daughter Awa was 17 at the time of the abduction.
For Ajrena Foods and Zenfix Nigeria, the initiative is part of a project that could inspire other mothers whose children have been abducted by Boko Haram, other jihadist groups or criminal gangs.
A decade after the Chibok schoolgirls were taken, mass kidnappings remain a reality in northern and central Nigeria and have become a lucrative industry.
“Our involvement comes in providing them an avenue to get out of the trauma that they went through and actually provide a sustainable business, both for themselves, their children and their communities as a whole,” said Ajay Ramnani, managing director of Ajrena Foods.
For her part, Taibat Dayo-Amzat, founder of Zenfix Nigeria, says she is optimistic about the future of the collaboration.
“It creates jobs, it affects the lives of the people,” she said. “It has a far-reaching impact. It was a win-win for me.”
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