Entering the room, I caught a glimpse of the Punch newspaper which lay on the coffee table. The newspaper which was dated April 3rd 2022, had the words “Train Attack: Govs’ Mercenary plan faulted, Military searches for missing passengers” written boldly on the front page. I felt unease as my mind wandered across the country’s insecurity which deteriorated with each passing day. Each day news concerning bombings, kidnappings and other issues keeps flying around, putting lots of people in a state of unrest. Some have either lost their lives as a result of the insecurity, while some have been injured, and others are currently displaced from their residential habitation migrating to another place as refugees.
The sect, Boko Haram came into existence in 2002 and was established by the late Mohammed Yusuf. In 2010, the year before the general elections, the country was faced with the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency, especially in the northern part of Nigeria. During the election campaigns, promises were made to curb terrorism which was fast crippling the country’s security. Fast forward to four years later, in 2014 before the 2015 General elections, the activities of the dreadful sect had spread with reports of Boko Haram taking control of a city in Borno state known as Damboa.
All these experiences have caused us as a country, the post-effect of war, insecurity, and most especially resulted in Democide. I was opportune to meet a person who had experienced and had been affected by the insurgency which made her migrate to Lagos cause of the insecurity in the north. Lydia, a young woman who is currently twenty-three years old had experienced the BOKO HARAM insurgency. Lydia was a student of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok where the infamous kidnappings of 276 school girls occurred on April 14th, 2014. The incident birthed the protest movement and slogan; Bring Back Our Girls.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
“I am Lydia Livena Muna, the 5th child of my parents, I came to Lagos in May 2021 to stay with my aunt and her husband who are so nice to me, allowing me to learn fashion designing in Olaomoju fashion shop in Gbagada. I am from Maiduguri a place that has been under insecurity since 2009 by Boko Haram which was led by Abubakar Shekau as at then. When I was in my village in Chibok local government Area of Borno State, before the crisis my family where into farming and my father was always after me attending school to develop myself and also help the family at large but ever since the terrorist attack we lived in the farm for as long as I can remember, we couldn’t go back to the residential home cause of our safety. my life was in different stages of racing. We ran from Chibok LGA to Uba also known as Askira LGA for our safety but then Boko Haram came to this local government to attack the villages of Huyim and Dille killing a lot of people. So I and my family moved away for our safety to Gombi local government in Adamawa state where I thought the race was all over went back to continue my education though I repeated jss2 education is the goal of my father and I also want to be educated so I can help my community. After a few months, the insurgence separated me from my family I had to go stay with my grandma in Chibok Maiduguri where I wrote my junior WAEC (West African Examination Council) and later went to another school known as Yerwa Government Girls Secondary School for my senior secondary schooling I staid in the boarding house. During this period. I didn’t know they were about my parent this was tough for me because for you to make calls you will have to travel to Biu local government in southern Borno for a good network system which cost at least 6000 naira then. Also Living in Maiduguri as a Christian during this period was insecure even for the Muslims as well. The church I attended Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa (EYN- The couch of the Brethren in Nigeria) got bombed by Boko haram and this bomb blast killed a lot of people and also injured some https://www.brethren.org/news/2009/maiduguri-churches-burned-in-violence-in-northern-nigeria/.
She went further after looking so sad about her experience this Boko Haram people we don’t know them they dress like Nigerian soldiers the only difference I could remember was some of them look dirty. I will love to go back to my village to further my education at Ramat Polytechnic because the standard of living in Lagos and also the education fee is expensive but in my village is a lot cheaper. As a girl is not easy in the north to get an education because Boko Haram do not believe in Western education also after the abduction of the Chibok girls some of my friends got scared to go to school. I am going back to school to educate myself and change my status.”
HAUSA LANGUAGE:
“Ni Lydia Livena Muna, ‘ya ta 5 a wajen iyayena, na zo Legas May 2021 ne domin in zauna da auntyna da mijinta wadanda suka yi min dadi, sun ba ni damar koyon zanen kayan kwalliya a shagon sayar da kayan kwalliyar Olaomoju da ke Gbagada. Ni daga Maiduguri wurin da ake fama da rashin tsaro tun 2009 Boko Haram da Abubakar Shekau ke jagoranta a wancan lokacin. Lokacin da nake kauyenmu da ke karamar hukumar Chibok a jihar Borno, kafin rikicin iyalina inda aka yi noma kuma mahaifina yana bayana a koyaushe ina zuwa makaranta don ci gaban kaina da kuma taimakon dangi gaba daya amma tun lokacin da ‘yan ta’adda suka kai hari muna rayuwa. a cikin gona har tsawon lokacin da zan iya tunawa, ba za mu iya komawa gidan zama namu ba saboda lafiyarmu. rayuwata ta kasance a matakai daban-daban na tsere. Mun gudu daga karamar hukumar chibok zuwa Uba wanda ake kira karamar hukumar Askira don kare lafiyarmu amma sai ga shi ‘yan Boko Haram sun zo wannan karamar hukumar sun kai hari kauyukan Huyim da Dille inda suka kashe mutane da dama. Don haka ni da iyalina muka kaura don kare lafiyarmu zuwa karamar hukumar Gombi da ke jihar Adamawa inda na yi tunanin an gama tsere sai na koma na ci gaba da karatuna duk da na maimaita jss2 amma ilimi burin mahaifina ne ni ma ina son in yi karatu. don haka zan iya taimakawa al’ummata. Bayan ‘yan watanni rikicin ya raba ni da iyalina sai na tafi wurin kakata a garin Chibok Maiduguri inda na rubuta karamar waec (West African Examination Council) sannan na tafi wata makarantar da aka fi sani da Yerwa Government Girls Secondary School na babbar sakandare dina. makaranta na tsaya a gidan kwana. A wannan lokacin. Ban san game da iyayena ba wannan ya yi mini wuya saboda don yin kira za ku yi tafiya zuwa karamar hukumar Biu a kudancin Borno don samar da tsarin sadarwa mai kyau wanda ya kai akalla Naira 6000 a lokacin. Haka nan Rayuwa a Maiduguri yana da Kirista a wannan lokacin har da Musulmi ma ba shi da tsaro. Cocin da na je Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa (EYN- kujeran ‘yan’uwa a Najeriya) Boko Haram ta kai musu harin bam kuma wannan tashin bam ya halaka mutane da dama tare da jikkata wasu. https://www.brethren.org/news/2009/maiduguri-churches-burned-in-violence-in-northern-nigeria/.
Ta ci gaba da kallon yadda ta samu irin wadannan ’yan Boko Haram din da ba mu san su da gaske ba suna sanya kaya irin na sojan Najeriya abin da kawai zan iya tunawa wasu daga cikinsu sun yi kazanta. Zan so in koma ƙauye na don ci gaba da karatuna a Ramat Polytechnic dalilin zaman rayuwa a Legas haka kuma kuɗin karatu yana da tsada amma a ƙauyena ya fi arha. A matsayina na yarinya ba sauki a arewa ta samu ilimi ya sa ‘yan Boko Haram ba su yarda da karatun kasashen yamma ba, haka ma bayan sace ‘yan matan chibok wasu abokaina sun tsorata da zuwa makaranta. Zan koma makaranta don in ilimantar da kaina da canza matsayi na.”
After my interview with Lydia, I tried going to the place she’s learning Fashion design where I was opportune to meet with a colleague of hers that says she’s always scared of little shouts, I tried asking her if I throw a banger here will she be scared she said if I shout at her she will get scared, she went further by saying she hates banger because of her experience at Chibok, also in her words I do have nightmares, flashbacks of this experiences. I also noticed she doesn’t trust people and also visited her house in Lagos.
References
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27310183
https://protectingeducation.org/news/nigeria-a-year-on-no-word-on-300-abducted-children/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57452166.amp
https://www.thecable.ng/no-sleep-for-jonathan-until-rescue-of-chibok-girls/amp
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Zamfara_massacres
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/02/boko-haram-again-invades-biu-communities-in-borno/amp/
https://theconversation.com/amp/what-world-war-i-taught-us-about-ptsd-105613
https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/nigeria-boko-haram-s-deadly-school-attack
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boko-Haram
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-terrorism-index-2022
https://www.dni.gov/nctc/groups/boko_haram.html
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2014/536393/EXPO-AFET_NT(2014)536393_EN.pdf