The Nation Newspaper

Tag: region

  • We proscribed IPOB to protect our region, says Southeast governors chair

    We proscribed IPOB to protect our region, says Southeast governors chair

    •Soldiers didn’t attack Kanu’s house
    •Group’s activites are scaring away investors
    •Northern govs to visit Southeast soon

    SOUTH EAST governors yesterday explained the rationale behind proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),

    They said IPOB was proscribed because its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had lost control of the group.

    Besides, IPOB had lost focus and was causing tension, said the Southern Governors Forum chairman,Dave Umahi of Ebonyi  State, who spoke to reporters in Abakaliki.

    Umahi said investors were scared of doing business in the region, adding that IPOB’s activities were heightening tension in the Southeast.

    In Owerri, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha said Kanu ‘is on his own.” He spoke at the New Year Festival, which was attended by the Onni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi.  In Umuahia, Abia State Commissioner of Police Anthony Ogbizi alleged that petrol bombs and other explosives were recovered from Kanu’s home.

    He said 37 suspected IPOB members would appear in court tomorrow for the torching of Ariaria market and related offences.

    Umahi said tension had eased since the proscription, adding: “The activities of IPOB in the Southeast have denied us of foreign investments and it is very important that our people should understand that and should know that.”

    “There are things you do that you have control over and so you work on things you have control over and leave the rest that you don’t have control over.

    “ Nobody wants to come to a place that is under tension that’s why we want to keep pressing for peace.”

    The governor said that  based on evidence before him, soldiers  did not attack IPOB last Sunday as claimed by Kanu.

    According to him, it was IPOB members who threw bottles and stones at soldiers who were passing by Kanu’s street.

    “When you start  a small fire, it can go very far and become difficult to control.  The IPOB activities were gradually getting out of control of Nnamdi Kanu. Soldiers were passing when IPOB members started throwing stones and other objects at them and it sparked off the clash between the group and the military,” Umahi said.

    He narrated how an IPOB sympathiser sent out the telephone numbers of Southeast governors,Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and others.

    “And all our people could do was calling us to insult us and  talk to us anyhow,” the governor stated, adding: “These are people that never experienced  any war in their lives.”

    He said the lives of Northerners and other non-indigenes in the Southeast must be guaranteed, warning that security agencies had been directed to deal with anyone attempting  to cause a breach of the peace.

    “Our focus is how to save the life of every Nigerian.We believe in a united Nigeria. Lives of people are involved and we must not play politics with that”, he said.

    “Anybody that wants to foment trouble must be crushed and I want the security agencies to beef up security around all the non-indigenes in the state and to report any problem to me because we must maintain the peace.”

    The governor asked  Igbo youths to stop insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders.

    He said Northern governors would soon visit the Southeast to further ease tension in the country and promote national unity.

    A similar visit to the North will be undertaken by Southeast governors.

    The governor said the majority of Igbo were opposed to  secession, adding that all they want is  to be treated fairly in the country.

    His words:”That is why we are all talking about restructuring. There is no part of this country that is not feeling marginalised somehow and that is why all the zones are setting up committees on restructuring.”

    Umahi, however, noted that injustice or marginalisation should not be an excuse for  secession, maintaining that dialogue should be the best way to resolve and redress all differences.

    On operation Egwu Eke II (Python Dance II), the governor said the exercise was never targeted at IPOB but intended to curb crime, especially kidnapping and armed robbery, in the zone.

    Heads of security agencies in the state and some principal officers in government attended the briefing.

  • Abuja 2016 and Lake Chad region

    The tone and tenor of speeches of Heads of State and government at the Regional Security Summit hosted on Saturday by President Muhammadu Buhari suggest that the countries in the Lake Chad region are looking beyond the Boko Haram terrorism.

    Smart leaders they are, they didn’t present themselves back-slapping each other in a congratulatory mood over the enormous feat they have accomplished in the last 10 or so months, substantially reducing the terrorist threats in the region to the point of being described as a mopping up operation.

    They were conscious of the fact the Chibok Girls have not been found. No success can be declared in this war without the girls being found and reunited with their families.

    In addition, the world has come a long way since Gorge W. Bush stood there atop the ship “Abraham Lincoln” being saluted by the flight deck crew to read a speech announcing an end to the Iraq war. “The 2003 Mission Accomplished” banner dominated the background as he spoke. But with hindsight, the world knows that the war against Iraq is still work in progress.

    The then American President, George Bush was to say to a CNN interviewer a few years later that he regretted the outlandish display. In November 2008 specifically, Bush indicated that he regretted the use of the banner, stating that it conveyed the wrong message.

    There are many who believe that the United States is still paying a price for that massive public relations failure.

    In all probability, the world would have benefited more from the leaders if the summiteers in Abuja had to say everything on the war situation as it enters its end in their territories but they, instead, chose to dwell on the promise of the future and what can be done to steer the economy and humanitarian situation into better times.

    While acknowledging the progress so far made, the summiteers who included French President Francois Hollande, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari and 10 other African Presidents, prime ministers and delegates concluded that defeating Boko Haram terrorist group will require a sustained comprehensive approach based on clear and coordinated plans of engagement at at the regional level. Such an approach, they said, must confront challenges relating to effective security operations, providing civilian security and civil administration, restoring stability, and promoting economic development and job creation to break the cycle of violence in all countries where Boko Haram is active.

    Among other things, they  recommended the enlistment of local community and religious leaders as constantly hammered on by President Buhari; increased intelligence sharing; the prioritization of the public education system and sparing no effort in the continuing search for the Chibok schoolgirls and all those abducted by Boko Haram by pooling intelligence resources.

    The leaders also agreed to support the victims of sexual violence or forced marriage by Boko Haram, and the need to provide them with appropriate support including reintegration to communities; that defeating the insurgency requires more than a military solution but that it also requires government-led development action to tackle the root causes of insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin through the development of education and economic opportunities.

    The summit agreed to address the humanitarian situation affecting millions of IDPs, refugees and host communities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The critical situation of the inhabitants of the newly-liberated towns and villages was also adjudged to be very pathetic. The summit agreed to provide and rehabilitate facilities in the devastated towns and villages with a view to creating conditions for citizens to live without fear of violence and return to conventional life and called for additional support from the international community. They, in addition, took special note of the 20,000 unaccompanied children (below the age of 18 years) displaced by the conflict and over 6000 minors, under the age of five years, and agreed to work together with international organisations to reunite those children with their families.

    One other major step toward a lasting solution towards permanent peace in the region is identified as coming through the acceleration, specifically within three years, of the implementation of the Lake Chad Development and Climate Resilience Action Plan as presented on the margins of COP21 in Paris in consultation with communities of the Lake Chad. It is hoped that the accelerated implementation of the Action Plan would go a long way in bringing development to the Lake Chad Basin.

    For Nigeria in particular, the period of the summit was used to receive an important visitor described as a friend of Africa, Francois Hollande who, in a literal sense killed two birds one stone. He engaged his host, President Buhari in a bilateral meeting in the early part of the day and in the afternoon, joined the other leaders at the summit. The two presidents reviewed the activities of the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF and the progress made since the Climate Change agreement, COP 21 in Paris. President Hollande gave commitment to Nigeria on the resettlement of IDPs as well as his continuing support towards the reestablishment of full security in the Lake Chad region. Five agreements were signed between the Nigerian parties and their French partners.

    In the margins of the security summit, the President also received in audience and at their request, Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal, Patrice Talon of Benin and Idriss Deby Itno of Chad.

    The President also had audiences with the British Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Rt. Hon. Phillip Hammond, the U.S Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Deputy President of the European Union Ms Federica Moghereni.

    President Macky Sall raised concerns about the need for the emergence of a good candidate for the chairmanship of the soon-to-be vacant African Union Commission in view of the decision of Mrs Zuma not to run for a second term. He told President Buhari that his country has such a capable candidate.

    Although this summit also discussed a yet-to-be fixed donors conference on the rebuilding of the LBCD areas, the EU brought the good news of the plan to spend 140 million Euros in that regards in the next five years.

    The EU also announced a plan to spend 40 million Euros in the reconstruction of the North-east. The US promised an immediate return of Nigeria’s stolen $350 million held up their country. China, the African Development Bank, ADB, the Islamic Development Bank, IDB, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF have all pledged various contributions they will be making.

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s just-concluded Regional Security Summit, which was the second after the initial one by President Hollande in Paris two years ago, has produced a communique unprecedented in terms of the strong words used and the space devoted to fighting terrorism, post-conflict resettlement and rehabilitation as well as ways of bringing social and economic justice, growth and development to a battered  part of Africa. It also unveiled an expansive security cooperation agenda that binds the West and Central African states to their U.S., European and Asian partners towards a lasting peace, itself a prerequisite for progress and development in the region and the continent. In spite of the foot-dragging by some participants, President Buhari’s key takeaways will include a benign consent to a partnership of the willing to  recharge the Lake Chad with waters from rivers in Central Africa.

    On account of these milestones, the leaders had no hesitation is agreeing to make the regional security summit a regular one.

     

    • Shehu is Senior Special Assistant to the President  (Media and Publicity)

  • Youths in Boko Haram region

    SIR; The March edition of the monthly situation report by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and International Organization for Migration (IMO) indicates that there are seven million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Nigeria, including 1.9 million displaced by the Boko Haram conflict. Ninety-two percent of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being hosted by low-income host communities, bringing already-stretched services and resources under increased pressure. The armed conflict has directly affected four states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Gombe. The current humanitarian response covers all four states, with Borno State being the most affected and the epicentre of military operations and displacement of civilians. Thus, these areas have the largest number of young people affected by the war. These young people are either forcefully indoctrinated, killed, forced out of schools; kidnapped as sex slaves; their local businesses and farm lands destroyed; separated from their relatives (parents); orphaned or their thought line affected by trauma of wars and poverty.

    Though, some reports have shown that recruitment of young people is via conscription, abduction or coercion, it is the lack of opportunities in their communities, poverty and illiteracy that most often leads young people into a life of violence and terrorism.

    As peace is gradually returning to some of these areas and the government is planning on how to smoothly return IDPs to liberated areas, the role of young people is critical in sustaining the fragile peace and long-term stability. Designing projects and programmes for community protection and avoiding future conflict in these communities cannot be successful without involving young people.

    Projects should be carefully-designed in such a way that there is a strong synergy between affected states and the federal government, while also involving donor agencies and NGOs in the areas of funding, monitoring and evaluation.

    Young people in the Boko Haram war ravaged zones are strategic figures in efforts to reconstruct, rehabilitate and resettle their communities. A well-planned programme for them will fast-track the healing of the scars of war, help to restore basic infrastructure and local economies, and return these communities to their pre-war or even better conditions. However, collaboration between all the   tiers of government, aid from the international community and the involvement of NGOs both local and international are as well very important in planning for young people in the Boko Haram conflict zone.

     

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

    Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • LBS Northern region alumni meet in Abuja

    Alumni of Lagos Business School (LBS) in the North gathered at the Northern Zonal Dinner organised by the LBS Alumni Association (LBSAA) for high-level networking and entertainment.

    The yearly event, which held last week  at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja was one of the most anticipated social events of LBS outside Lagos.

    President, Northern Zone of LBSAA, Nze Chidi Duru, said the Abuja Zonal Dinner was memorable as many institution’s alumni who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields and other key business leaders in Abuja and its environs attended.

    “The event created a platform for high-level networking among icons of the Nigerian business community and highlight the School’s leading role in nurturing Nigeria’s business leaders,” he said.

    According to Ms Bunmi Afolabi, director, Alumni Relations, LBS, alumni who reside and work in the north, enjoyed the evening, which offered great learning and entertainment.

    She said: “We had two profound professionals – Mr Babatunde Fowler, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Mustapha Bello, Chairman, Invest in Northern Nigeria Limited – speak on some critical business issues at the dinner. The event was spiced with rib-cracking comedy and pleasant music.”

    Many corporate organisations supported the event. They included Grand Towers Plc, Airtel Nigeria, Fidelity Bank plc, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited and MessageWise Limited.

  • Old Eastern Region widows protest harmful practices

    Old Eastern Region widows protest harmful practices

    Stella Edmund in this report captures the painful agonies of widows deprived of love and affection by the society on account of their poor stations in life

    Despite assurances by feminist groups of an equal opportunity like their male counterparts, many womenfolk around here still suffer a lot of privations more than they are willing to admit. And the reason for this is not far to seek: Nigeria remains a largely paternalistic society where the women still don’t occupy a pride of place in the scheme of things.

    In the eastern region of the country, women, it does appears, are victims of harmful cultural practices among other things largely bizarre.

    In its bid to suggest ways forward to streamline certain harmful practices in Igbo land, The Nation had in chat with the Eze Ndigbo Lagos, His Royal Highness H.N.Ohazulike while noting that very ancient tradition has been handed down by their ancestors since the origin of the Igbo race on earth, as such, cannot be easily abolished from the culture and mores of the land, however, said modernity has rubbed off on the way people observe these culture.

    Igbo land occupies a large mass of land which includes five states with many dialects and homogenous culture.

    Of the many vices in Igbo land, the issue of widowhood rights appears profound. A culture analyst, Titus Nwachukwu, while commenting on the problem of widowhood neglect, said it is a sore point.

    “The issue of widowhood right depends on the family or town where the woman is married. Although in Igbo culture, a woman is not entitled to her father’s property or have legitimate right, unless in her husband’s family whereas in some part of the area, when husband dies the woman is subjected to torture from their late husband siblings over right of ownership and if the deceased was sick before his death, some families may accuse the widow of killing her husband.  Therefore she will be subjected to drink the dirty water which was used to bath the dead and will be kept in isolation. She will not have bath for one week and after the burial, she will be asked to shave her hair, and wear black clothes for a period of one year.”

    Confirming this development, in a chat with Chioma Ogbonna, who said she has been a widow for the past 15years since her husband died and left her with three primary school three children, life has been hellish.

    First, she was thrown out by her in-laws, who, in the course of fighting over possessions with her, grabbed her late husband’s little savings and left them wretched. However, as her son came of age, many years later, he went to his uncle and demanded for his father’s properties, which expectedly resulted into a court case. Much to the grace of God, her son took possession of the properties, which include landed properties, cars and houses in Enugu.

    Her story however underlines the fact that a woman in the Igbo culture does not have legitimate right on issues like these. Women from that part of the country therefore face such problems and when there is problem in the families before the man dies, some members of the family will always come against you and capitalise on it because of what they want to benefit. Some will even label the woman an osu, meaning an outcast, a negative tag that emanated from pre-colonial slavery era and degenerated to what it is today. An example of people who are referred to as osu are Igbo people, who at very young ages, were taken or who travelled to distant places for a long time, and may not be able to trace their ways back to their original home or place of origin.

  • A region dislocated

    A region dislocated

    Boko Haram has not run over the Northeast but one thing is clear: the entire region has not been the same since the insurgency. Apart from the huge loss of life and property particularly in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, other states in the North have been grappling with the influx of people fleeing from the rampaging sect. YUSUFU AMINU-IDEGU and KOLA ADEYEMI report

    The agony has been coming in incremental doses. First the insurgents attacked public facilities and officers; occasionally, they threw improvised explosive devices or IEDs at gatherings, even pubs. Soon, they set their sights on bigger targets, including the police national headquarters and military facilities. They have since scaled up their operations, grooming and deploying suicide bombers (women among them) and kidnappers, with their fighters overrunning towns and hoisting the black Boko Haram flag.

    The nation has paid dearly for the violent appetite of the insurgents but nowhere is the horror in such bold relief as the Northeast. As they sack one town after another, survivors have been fleeing to other parts of the region considered safer. It has been at a huge cost not only to their hosts and government agencies but also the internally displaced people or IDPs themselves. Whether directly under the Boko Haram fire or not, the North has been considerably shaken up by the sect’s violence.

    In Plateau State alone, there are 35,000 IDPs fleeing from Gwoza in Borno State as well as Mubi and Michika in Adamawa. But there are others from Taraba and Nasarawa states running away from ethnic conflicts.

    In Kano State, there are 261 IDPs being looked after by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) but everyone knows that camp life presents its own anguish.

     

    Plateau

     

    Information Officer of NEMA, Central Zone, Audu Yohana, said, of the Plateau situation: “A comprehensive assessment by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicates that the IDPs are camping in different locations across five local government areas of Plateau State, such as Wase, Kanam, Shendam and Mikang local government areas.

    “Eleven thousand Internally Displaced Persons from Taraba State are camping in different locations across the four local government areas. From Adamawa State, 24,000…are presently camping in different locations across Jos North and Jos South local government areas of the state.

    “The North Central Zonal Office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has concluded the needs assessment of the IDPs and had sent its report to the Director General of the Agency for immediate release of relief materials to ameliorate the situation of the IDPs. The IDPs who are mostly women and children fled the troubled States as a result of the insecurity of their lives and properties in those states”.

    While the agency is waiting for relief materials from its headquarters, thousands of IDPs are passing through hell. Most of them said they cannot believe they could be refugees in their own land.

    The displaced persons from Lafia camping in Aningo village in Namu district of Quan-Pan Local Government Area of the state said they have been there for about two months without any relief from any government. They scavenge for food everyday.

    A mother of four, Mrs Asabe Abel, said, “In this camp, I am living with my children as if we are in an orphanage home. No food, nowhere to sleep, we have escaped from crisis but we don’t know how to escape from hunger. Hunger will soon kill my children; government should come to our aid, please”.

    The Aningo camp, according to findings, is sheltering about 10,000 displaced persons, most of whom women and children. They came from villages like Akuni, Gidan Gambo, Galo, Assakio, Amawa, etc. They comprise Plateau natives living in Nasarawa State and those indigenous to Lafia, Nasarawa State.

    Most of the IDPs are peasant farmers who lost their grains to the attackers’ cattle. One of the victims, Huseini Baba-Musa said, “The people who attacked us did not only set our houses ablaze; they used their cattle to eat up our grains which we stocked in our barns. In my compound they destroyed four barns of food consisting of Soya bean, Guinea corn, maize and yam. These are the food I stored for the survival of my family”.

    A visit to the IDPs camp in Aningo village revealed that they live as though in the wild, sleeping in what looks like nests.

    Because there were not enough houses in the village to accommodate them, the IDPs simply gathered grass and sticks. They fixed the sticks to the ground in a circular shape and thatched the grass on the sticks.

    The village head of Aningo, Baba Muhammadu Ashaleku, said, “We were able to cater for the needs of the displaced people who ran to our place initially when they were few. But when the numbers of their numbers continued to grow, it was difficult for us to cope with feeding them. We have been expecting government to come in but up till now, no government came.

    The living condition of the IDPs poses serious health risk to them as their crowded spaces exposes them to epidemic. Investigations revealed that only the Justice Development and Peace Caritas, a faith-based NGO has shown concern about the plight of the IDPs in Aningo. The NGO said the number of displaced persons from Nasarawa State trooping to the camp increases on daily bases due to recent conflicts in the that state.

    Apart from the IDPs in Quan-Pan local government of Plateau State, there are thousands of others who are also camping in Jos, the state capital. About 1000 of them are camped at the hostels of Zang Commercial College, Bukuru, Jos, hosted by Stepfanos Foundation, a non-governmental organisation. The camp consists of 145 families who escaped from Gwoza, Yola, Mubi, Michika, Madagali, etc. Programme Coordinator of the NGO, Mr. Mark Lipdo said it has no capacity to cater for the IDPs for long.

    “I have merely provided a place for them to sleep pending when government will come to their aid with relief material and subsequent return to their homes when government would have secured the areas. Many of the IDPs have horrifying experiences of how they managed to escape from their homes and farms. They had to escape from their farms without the privilege of returning home when they learnt their towns had been taken over by insurgents. A few women gave birth in the bush while looking for ways to escape the horror.  A lot of them are beginning to ask if government still regards them as Nigerians especially as the federal government is quick to respond to conflicts in other countries but is seemingly unable to curb the insurgency in few states within its domain.”

    While calling on government to heed the cry of these victims of Boko Haram attacks as security and welfare of citizens is the primary responsibilities of government, he said “We appeal to relevant authorities, agencies, individuals and organisations to  reach out to these victims for help in their bid to resettle and start life afresh”.

    Similarly, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria popularly known as EYN is also housing some of the IDPs. One of the church leaders who addressed reporters at the church in Jos, Rev Dr Samuel Dali, said, “It is with a heavy heart and traumatised soul and spirit I address you this day on behalf of the displaced Christians and people from Northern Nigeria. It is obvious or apparent that the Federal Government of Nigeria lacks the political will to protect and defend our people in Northern Nigeria from the Boko Haram insurgency and attack from the Fulani militia. The Federal Government seems to be toying with the lives and limbs of the Christians in Northern Nigeria for political gains. While Boko Haram and the Fulani militia and their sponsors are killing innocent Nigerian citizens especial the Christians, the government seems to not care and has abdicated from its responsibility to protecting lives. There have been protracted attacks by Fulani and other ethnic militia in Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau and many other states in the North, the government seems not to care talk more of employ lasting solution”.

    Rev. Dali said further that in all these attacks, Christians and their churches are mostly affected. At least 700,000 members of the church, mostly women and children, have been displaced and now scattered in places like Jos, Abuja, Kaduna and Yola. Over 8,000 members have been murdered or killed by the Boko Haram insurgents and 270 churches have been destroyed completely by the insurgents, while 45 out of the 50 District Church Councils (DCC) have been affected. There is no explanation the government can give as to why the Federal troops will run away from the towns prior to the attack on such towns by Boko Haram without putting any resistance, it seems government does not care about its citizens in that zone. The United Nations (UN) must intervene and declare the Northeast a UN territory with immediate effect and send in peacekeeping troops to secure the remaining traumatised people”.

     

    Kano

     

    For over a week, Malam Yunusa Nuhu, 67, has been yearning for a return to Mubi, his home town in Adamawa State from where he came to Dawakin Kudu in Kano State with 113 family members.

    For them and the others, freedom is denied and their fate lies in the hands of NEMA officials who are looking after them.

    At the Dawakin Kudu IDPs camp, our correspondent recorded gory tales from many of the 261 refugees. Malam Nuhu who was a bicycle repairer and Islamic teacher, said: “We are from Mubi in Adamawa State where Boko Haram has forced me and my family numbering about 113 out from our homes and legitimate earnings. We have practically become dependent on the government.  I came with my wives, sons, daughters and grandchildren. In any case, I count myself lucky because none of us lost our lives to the insurgents’ onslaught. We all came here hale and hearty and by the grace of Allah, we are well taken care of by NEMA.

    “However, I must tell you that we are not happy because our freedom is restricted and we no longer enjoy our privacy. My children’s education has been halted and their future now remains bleak and their ambitions have also been distorted. Ours seem like a hopeless situation because as we hear from the radio everyday, the killings continue in our home town and we cannot tell when it will end.”

    Nuhu said that their escape from the troubled Mubi town was a miracle. “Many Nigerians may not understand what we are passing through. As I am speaking to you, two of my wives are here with me, while the third one is currently hibernating in Cameroon with other children. It is very difficult for us. It is indeed traumatising as we wake up every day hoping and praying that this tragedy will end. Nigerians should help us appeal to the government to do everything possible to ensure that this terrible experience is ended.

    “A month ago, at about 9 a.m. we heard gunshots and after that, we saw helicopters bombing our town. At that time, I was teaching my Quranic students. Everybody ran helter-skelter as the situation became alarming. I was worried and apprehensive. I started searching for my family members. I got in touch with about 10 of them on the phone. I immediately instructed them to move towards the bush where we slept. The next morning, I was able to get in contact with 17 others who also met us in the bush and from there we set out on foot through the bush and got to a town by name Gude by 9 a.m. the next morning with no food, no water. We remained in the mercy of Allah. We stayed in Gude for about five days. We left Mubi without a pin from the house. From Gude, I phoned other members of the family and that was when my third wife told me that they have arrived Cameroon.”

    He further narrated that, “the rest of the family numbering 111 met us in Gude, inside the thick forest. There and then, we managed to mobilize 27 motor bikes that conveyed us to Maiha village, about 10 kilometers from Mubi. They collected N2500 each amounting to about N60, 000. From Miaha, we hired two big trucks which conveyed us to Yola at the cost of N30,000. We spent five days in Yola. In Yola, we heard that the insurgents are moving towards the state capital where we were. We got jittery and fear and panic enveloped us. At that point, we hired two vehicles to Kano at the cost of N50, 000. We arrived Kano at about 2 a.m. in the night an d the driver took us to Yankaba  where we were haboured for two weeks. From there, the Mai Angwar now directed us to the Hisbah Board who conveyed us to Dawaklin Kudu campo where we are today.”

    Also narrating his ordeal, Alhaji Mohammadu Amadora from Michika town in Adamawa state said that they escaped death by Whiskas from Michika town through the bush with a family of 20 and three wives. “It was a miraculous escape,” he said while thanking God for sparing their lives. Amadora told our Correspondent ithat one of his wives delivered a bouncing baby boy in the camp about a week ago, “ and I named him Muhammadu Sanusi in honour of the Emir of Kano in whose kingdom we have been taken refuge. Ii lost one of my brothers to the insurgents. Chinto was a nice person to me and his death has been very painful.”

    An orphan, Bashir Mustapha (12) narrated how he lost his parents to the bullets of Boko Haram. “They killed my parents before my eyes in Baga town in Borno state, a border town with Chad. They were merciless. They shot at my parents severally and I saw their blood flowing freely. They killed too many people that very day. IO am alive today through the grace of Allah but each minute that passes, I am confronted with the gory sight of my parents’ death. It is indelible in my memory and that trauma has refused to desert me. I am alone in this whole world—it is indeed a cruel world. I have no mother, no father, no brother and sister. I have no future. I cry every day because I am now a wonderer.’

    Dejected Mustapha who narrated how he got to Kano said, “immediately the incident happened, I ran into the bush crying for help as our house was set ablaze by the insurgents. I was lucky as I ran towards the road. At about 7 p.m., after Magrid prayer, a motorist came to my rescue and asked me where I was going, I told him to take me to anywhere, at the end, I arrived Kano and was handed over to the Hisbah Board. They took me to a woman by name Umma who assisted me and brought me to Dawakin Kudu refugee camp.”

    Aisha Buba, an 18-year-old widow who got married nine months ago, is pregnant. She said Boko Haram slaughtered her husband before her in Gomboru Ngala town in Borno State, a border town with Cameroon.

    “The Boko Haram terrorists invaded Gomboru town and shot indiscriminately. They also slaughtered a lot of people with knives. My husband was slaughtered and the body caught into pieces as if he was a ram. As I was about escaping with him, one of them dragged my husband and told me to stand by. He pulled out a knife and slaughtered my husband before my very eyes and told me to find my way—that was how I ran to Kano. I am a young girl, now abandoned and dejected. I am from a poor background. We are suffering in the hands of Boko Haram. We appeal to the government to take urgent steps to stop this barbaric act because this is man’s inhumanity to man. We are longing to go back home if our safety can be guaranteed.”