How Ogaga Ifowodo’s Poetry Keeps Leah Sharibu’s Story in Nigeria’s Memory

Ogaga Ifowodo’s *Why Does God Need a Gun?* turns Leah Sharibu’s abduction into a wider reflection on captivity, religious extremism, violence and Nigeria’s tendency to forget victims of tragedy. The poetry collection gives imaginative voice to Leah, who was among the Dapchi schoolgirls abducted in 2018 and has remained missing. Through images of the forest, guns, rain, dreams and forced silence, the poems portray captivity as both a personal trauma and a symbol of a nation repeatedly wounded by kidnappings, killings and displacement. Leah becomes more than a headline or statistic; she represents many Nigerians whose stories have been silenced. The collection, shortlisted for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature, is praised for its lyrical language and its refusal to separate beauty from moral urgency. It asks readers to confront the human cost of violence and resist the national amnesia that allows one atrocity to replace another.

Use The App To Win ₦1m

Stories are shared by community members. This article does not represent the official view of NaijaWorld — the author is solely responsible for its content.