From the archive: ‘Mama Boko Haram’: one woman’s extraordinary mission to rescue ‘her boys’ from terrorism

We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2020: Aisha Wakil knew many of Boko Haram’s fighters as children. Now she uses those ties to broker peace deals, mediate hostage negotiations and convince militants to put down their weapons – but as the violence escalates, her task is becoming impossible. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod