Potiskum has been hit before but after the latest suicide attack on a boys school, residents of Yobe State’s largest city are shattered and deeply suspicious of one another, reports DUKU JOEL
Some reckon that after the suicide attack on a school in Potiskum, it will take a long time for the wounds to heal. About 50 people died following the assault, while many more sustained injuries.
The deeper wounds, however, are not physical. Residents of this once thriving town have been terribly shaken. Many have lost their appetite for social life. Worshippers are far less eager to gather in their mosques and churches, preferring to pray outside the town.
The people have grown increasingly suspicious of one another since a bomber in school uniform detonated a devastating device at the assembly ground of a boys school in the town. Some residents have even fled. Potiskum is no longer the same.
The residents are no more worried about bullets, nor about assassins as they once were. The immediate scare is Boko Haram’s suicide bombers. The soul of this hitherto vibrant commercial city, the largest in the state, has been dealt a crushing blow.
Like many other towns in the Northeast, Potiskum has had its share of heinous attacks orchestrated by the Boko Haram insurgents.
In May 2012, over 100 people were killed in an attack on a cattle market, one of the largest in West Africa. The attack took place in the peak of trading activities on a market day when traders were making their last minutes purchases.
Apart from human losses, over 1000 cows, sheep and goats were killed and an unquantifiable amount of money lost.
But for divine intervention, the Emir of Fika would have been a victim of a suicide attack in a mosque near his palace after Friday prayers. His police orderly was not lucky as he was killed alongside the bomber. The Yobe State Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Abubakar Degubi was also brutally assassinated in Potiskum in the presence of his family. Churches have also been burnt in the area.
Potiskum has not always been the target for violent criminals.
Alhaji Yusuf Isa, chair of the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) who was born and brought up in Potiskum, painted an enchanting picture of the city.
“Growing up in Potiskum was really fun,” he said. “Even as an adult, there was never a dull moment. Potiskum was a very vibrant city in terms of business, social and religious life. It’s a very commercially-oriented city that bubbled with life 24 hours.
“Children were engaged with their Quranic or Western educational activities while the adults were busy buying and selling.
“But all that has changed now. I can say without mincing words that these crises have dealt a heavy blow on the soul of the town. People no longer trust one another. People are afraid of crowds because you don’t know who is carrying what next to you. The economy of the town and its religious and social lives are now negatively affected. You will be surprised to hear that some people prefer to pray outside villages than inside Potiskum town on Fridays for fear of the unknown,” Isa said.
Mr. Daniel Omale who was in the town for his National Youth Service 10 years ago and later worked in Damaturu, was still fond of the Corpers Lodge in Potiskum. Now, he cannot even afford to spare one day to attend the wedding of his wife’s relatives in the town because of the fear of being caught up in a suicide attack.
Omale how lively and enjoyable his service year went with the bustling life in Potiskum.
“I still remember vividly how we used to hang out at places like Dorowa, Army Barracks and all of that. In fact people were very free to do what they wanted without any form of restraint, fear or molestation. As a Catholic we used to have procession for Palm Sunday in the town. All that can’t happen now with what is going on. The last time I visited Potiskum was in 2010 and I noticed that a lot of people had fled the town for fear of Boko Haram which has crippled business completely in the area,” Omale said.
In August two suicide bombers launched what many described as coordinated attacks on two mosques in different locations of Potiskum town. The attack was targeted at worshippers during the evening prayer around 7:30.
The affected mosques were the Alkali Kalli mosque just a few meters away from the emir of Fika Palace and the Sakafa mosque located at the busy Potiskum central market.
Last week’s attack on Potiskum has more than ever left many devastated in the town with the killing of over 30 innocent students on a secondary school barely a week after a suicide bomber had his way marching along with some Shiite Muslim members before blowing himself up at the middle of the procession.
The attacks angered the youths of the town who protested against security agents barring them from entering the hospital. The youths barred the commissioner of Police and the state commissioner of Education from getting access to the hospital to get first hand information on the blast.
The Police Commissioner Marcus Danladi who was in Potiskum with all his security team and the Yobe State of Commissioner Mohammed Alamin could not go to the scene of the event for fear of being lynched by the angry mob.
The CP however went to the palaces of the two Emirs in the town to solicit for calm of the residents to allow the security people do their job.
The Emir of Fika, Dr. Muhammadu Ibn Abali Muhamadu Idrissa told the CP that he has sent some people to go to the scene and pled with the angry people to allow security do their job, adding that what happened with the Shiite people some days ago has aggravated anger in people”.
He condemns the act describing it as “callous and wicked”. He called on the local people to collaborate with security in the fight against the insurgency.
Irked by the attack on the school children, the Emir of Fika and chair of Yobe State Council of Chiefs, Dr. Muhammadu Ibn Abali Muhammadu Idrissa has summoned all the District Heads, Ward Heads and Village Heads under his domain to monitor the behaviour of their subjects.
The monarch tasked his aids in a security meeting held at his Palace few days after the blast. The meeting according to an insider was geared towards minimizing attacks and killings of innocent souls in the town.
According to him, ”we are indeed disturbed with multiple explosions in Potiskum town within one week time, it is unfortunate and saddening that our young School Children were murdered while learning for their future, I therefore urge all of you to monitor the behaviors of your children, relatives, neighbors and tenants, anyone willing to occupy a house in your area must be thoroughly interrogated so that criminals would not hide in your places, you are expected to report to the security agencies any suspicious movements in your domains, I have always told you security is a collective responsibility, we need your maximum cooperation to return peace in our town, I also appeal to you to organize peace prayer,” the Emir charged..
In the meeting, over 30 District Heads, Ward Heads and Village Heads were in attendance with a collective commitment to support the Emir in the attempt to ensure the return of peace.
In his views, the Emir of Potiskum, Alhaji Bubara Ibn Wuriwa Bauya described as unfortunate that is happening in the Northeast and the entire country.
He disclosed that he will call an expanded meeting of all his chiefs to discuss the way forward in collaborating with security to foster peace among the people.
He regretted the mob action at the hospital and the school, stressing that it is alien to his domain.
“We really don’t know these people that are protesting. It is very bad to stage this kind of action at this critical time in the event of what is happening is wrong. We need the security people around us and we need to cooperate with them to fish out the bad people among,” the royal father said.
