Mothers of Chibok: Chilling story of resilience, self-reliance, optimism
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By Prisca Sam-Duru
Watching the documentary “Mothers of Chibok”, in which the primary motivation for the women’s toiling and moiling is to provide their children with the best education is mind-blowing. These are strong women who have turned their pain into strength. These mothers of Chibok girls are truly resilience and optimism personified.
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The 86-minute film directed by Emmy winning film maker, Joel ‘Kachi Benson and executive produced by Nollywood icon, Joke Silva, had its Lagos premiere last Saturday.
The massive crowd that filled up the cinema hall during the premiere at Filmhouse Imax indicates how far the film will go to redefine cinema-going culture of Nigerians as well as tell the Chibok girls story from the mothers’ perspective.
Interestingly, “Mothers of Chibok” continues showing in Cinemas across Nigeria and Ghana until the end of March.
Recall that the entire globe was thrown into severe heartbreak when the news of the abduction of over 250 Chibok school girls aged from 16 to 18 by Boko Haram terrorists on April 14, 2014, broke.
While some of the girls are still in captivity, and it appears no effort is being channeled into their return, ‘Kachi Benson gives the world an opportunity to see through his lens how the mothers of the abducted Chibok students have been coping in spite of that tragedy.
In what looks like a sequel to his earlier award-winning film, “Daughters of Chibok” in which he dealt more about the grief following the kidnap of the girls, ‘Kachi Benson revealed that he made the documentary, “Mothers of Chibok” because he wanted to show a different side to the mothers of the schoolgirls beyond tragedy, pain and grief.
“Mothers of Chibok” follows the lives of four mothers, Lydia, Mariam, Ladi and Yana, who have built groundnut farming into an economic engine to fund their children’s education and sustain their community more than a decade after the 2014 abduction.
The event was an exciting one as some of the mothers of Chibok girls were present at the premiere. The evening actually commenced on a very inspiring note with the “Meet and Taste Experience” session. It afforded guests the opportunity to meet the Mothers of Chibok in person while savouring an exclusive tasting of their handcrafted peanut paste, popcorns, and more. This was followed by the film screening, which drew mixed feelings – laugher at intervals and sympathy most of the time, seeing how hard the women struggle to survive.
The standing ovation at the end of the screening was as loud as envisaged by many.
Speaking to the press, Benson explained that his decision to emphasize enterprise was intentional. Having spent time with the women since 2018, proximity reshaped his understanding of their story.
“There’s more to these women than the pain,” Kachi Benson shared. “I chose to focus on the beauty, the dignity, the grace. Spending time with them was an inspiration. Watching them wake up every day with the resolve to build a better life for their children helped me rethink contentment and what truly matters.”
Kachi Benson affirmed that he wants audiences to leave the cinema with admiration, not pity, to recognise the women as architects of their own future rather than symbols of loss, a sentiment underscored by the standing ovation they received after the screening.
During the fireside chat, Yana, one of the mothers of Chibok, expressed gratitude that the film is finally out and thanked Benson for embarking on the journey with them. She highlighted how improved inputs and technical support have made farming easier and more sustainable while emphasising that continued backing is essential to expand their livelihoods and secure their children’s futures.
“We will never forget the mothers of Chibok,” Nollywood veteran Joke Sylva said, adding, “The film is so powerful that it has documented the story from their own perspective. What is fascinating for me about the film is that when Ladi is riding the bicycle, the place looks like a desert. All of a sudden, it becomes green, and it gets greener and greener. That’s the power of filmmaking. What it is saying to us and what Kachi has done with this film is to switch the narrative and say that these women are farmers because they want to send their children to school.”
While describing the film event as not just a film premiere but a historic moment acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi said, “For more than a decade, the name Chibok has echoed across the world as a headline, a hashtag, a symbol. But what Kachi has done with this film is something far more powerful — he has restored humanity where the world once saw only statistics.
“He has turned a global news event back into what it has always been: a story of mothers, of families, of faith, of unbreakable endurance.”
Now screening in cinemas nationwide through FilmOne Entertainment, Mothers of Chibok positions enterprise and education not as abstract ideals, but as strategy. It asks audiences to move beyond empathy toward investment and to recognise the dignity and economic leadership that define these women’s lives today.
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