The kidnapping of 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi has once again forced the country to confront a reality that has become uncomfortably familiar. The incident, involving the abduction of young girls from their school, has drawn widespread concern and revived painful memories of similar tragedies that Nigeria has struggled to move past. At the center of the national conversation is a growing fear that this latest abduction may follow the same tragic trajectory as the Chibok girls, many of whom have still not been released more than a decade later.

The Chibok case, once the focus of global outrage, international campaigns, and constant media attention, gradually faded from global consciousness even as families continued to wait for their daughters who never came home.

The fact that so many of the Chibok girls remain unaccounted for has created a harsh emotional backdrop against which the Kebbi abduction is now being viewed. The concern is not just about the immediate rescue efforts but about the long-term possibility that the Kebbi girls may also slip into the silence of unresolved national tragedies.

As news of the Kebbi abduction spreads, the question becomes impossible to avoid: will the world once again move on? The initial shock and calls for action often generate brief momentum, but history shows that national attention can fade long before justice is achieved. The lingering trauma of Chibok has become a reminder that public outrage does not always translate into lasting intervention and that the lives of abducted girls can slowly disappear from public consciousness even while their families continue to hope.

Despite these painful parallels, the objective reality remains that each kidnapping represents not just a security failure but a deeply human story. Families wait, communities grieve, and the country is forced to reckon with the fear that school spaces meant to nurture and protect children have become targets. The Kebbi incident raises difficult but necessary questions about whether the system is stronger now than it was during Chibok or whether the cycle is simply repeating itself.

The comparison does not diminish the current tragedy; instead, it highlights the urgency of ensuring that these 25 girls do not become another unresolved footnote in Nigeria’s history of school kidnappings.

The concerns being raised are not speculative; they are informed by lived experience, by the painful fact that many Chibok families are still waiting, and by the heavy possibility that history could repeat itself if decisive action is not taken.

As the situation continues to unfold, the country watches closely, aware of how much is at stake. The hope is that the Kebbi girls will not share the fate of those still missing from Chibok and that this moment will not become another story the world forgets too quickly. The objective truth lies in the weight of the past and the uncertainty of the present: Nigeria has seen this before, and the fear is that it may see it again.