Demonstrators are to march through the Nigerian capital Abuja to press for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by militants two weeks ago.
They say they will march to the National Assembly and demand more action from the government, which has been criticised for not doing enough.
The Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for abducting the girls from their school in Chibok, Borno state.
Boko Haram has not yet made any response to the accusation.
I am glad to read about the protest but I cannot help noting that two weeks after the tragic kidnapping there is (as far as we know) only one public protest and it musters only 500 people. The hearts of the parents must be breaking. Yet this points to one of the weaknesses of a nation like Nigeria: a very poor sense of civil life. In other countries there would be associations, movements, clubs, community organisations and others that could inform and influence public opinion and this mobilise the government to act. But in so many African nations, civil society in our Western understanding is just minimally present. And Boko Haram can literally get away with murder. The churches are among the few bodies that can speak out and do – hence the bishops condemning corruption in Nigeria, which is endemic – but without a broader background of popular interest and concern there is little impact.