Lydia Joshua, one of the 276
girls kidnapped at Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state, on
April 14, 2014, has disclosed that during the three years she spent in the
captivity, she only drank water when it rained.
Joshua was among the captives
released through a negotiation with the Boko Haram sect in 2017. She is now
trying to adjust to life outside the strange environment. She narrated her
experience in bondage and the plight of those who are yet to be free. Though one
could not freely speak to her largely due to certain governmental restrictions,
her parents and loved ones were happy and enthusiastic to retell what she had
told them of the dark years.
Matina Butu, the victim’s aunt revaled
that the tales were heart-wrenching.
“The girls suffered, especially
the ones who refused to marry Boko Haram. The Boko Haram people would ask the
girls to raise their hands if they wanted to marry any of the men. The girls
who did not express interest were starved,” said Butu who left Borno for Lagos
as a result of Boko Haram activities.
SCARY TALES OF SNAKES, HUNGER AND FEAR
“When it rained, they would be
drenched and their clothes would dry up on their bodies. It is also when it
rains that they get to drink water. Lydia told her stories of sleeping beside
snakes, going several days without food and sewing clothes with what she
described as hand needles.
“They slept on flooded floors for
three years. It’s only God that kept Lydia alive and I am still shocked. Lydia
told me they ate leaves and when they gave them food, it was never enough until
the negotiations for their release started taking place and they started giving
them food.”
Butu also spoke about the trauma
of Lydia’s absence and the effect of insurgency on her family.
Although she is just 26 years old,
five years older than her niece, Butu is a widow with three children.
She narrated how the insurgents
killed her husband.
“Our village is empty. Nobody is
there, people have gone to different places. They also took our farms so that
we cannot feed any longer,” she said.
“They (Boko Haram) are leaving
widows of women. They will come to your house and kill your husband and leave
you alone to take care of the children. They killed my husband and I am left
alone with three children take care of.”
She disclosed that Lydia’s
grandfather died suddenly in 2014 because he was traumatised.
“His granddaughter had been
kidnapped and shortly after, his son was beheaded in front of him,” she said.
LOVE BEYOND BORDERS
Yakubu Amos, Lydia’s boyfriend
got the test of his life when Boko Haram abducted her. A young man full of
life, he could have moved on and found someone else but like a loyal partner,
he stood by her all through the years in bondage. He talked about his plans to
marry her after school. His eyes lit up when he spoke about the time Lydia came
to visit her parents in Lagos, last December.
“I threw her a party. Just here,”
he said, pointing at a camp in Kirikiri, Apapa, Lagos. “Everyone was happy to
see her.”
Amos said it was he who took
Lydia to school before the kidnap happened.
“That is why anytime I thought of
her when she was with Boko Haram, I cried terribly,” he said.
“Lydia told me she did not have
clothes to wear. She said they made their clothes themselves in the bush and
almost died of hunger. Only when it rained did she have water to drink. She
suffered greatly.”
The government is responsible for
the education and upkeep of the freed girls. In September 2017, government
enrolled 86 girls at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa state,
for pre-degree courses that will enable them meet the criteria for entry into
degree programmes. Ordinarily, this should make family members of the victim
excited but Lydia’s aunt is worried.
“Lydia and all the other girls
were already taking their final paper when they were kidnapped, so why are they
in JSS1? How long will it be before they write secondary school certificate
examination and then get into the universities? When they are old women?” she
asked.
CONFUSION OVER EDUCATION OF
THE GIRLS
Some of the freed Chibok
schoolgirls with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo
Butu’s worry matches that of her
sister, Mary Joshua, who is also Lydia’s mum. She protested the decision to
enrol her daughter is in JSS1.
But Amos seems to be the only one
with this understanding as he insists she is studying for a diploma.
Aisha Oyebode, founder of the
Murtala Muhammed foundation and member of the Bring Back our Girls campaign,
said the confusions stems from a weak communication structure between the
government and the parents of the girls.
Oyebode said it is important to
carry the families of the girls along in their process of reintegration.
While Butu is worried that Lydia
is getting a poor education especially because she could not interact in
English language when she came to visit her parents in Lagos in December,
Oyebode insisted that the education the girls are currently getting is
standard.
“They are currently at the
American University of Nigeria in Yola; and that is a silver lining that they
will get the opportunity to get a good education.” Oyebode says.
“I have always advocated that the
work with the girls should be done with the knowledge of their parents. Before
the girls were taken away, they were in the custody of the parents. So, they
should be returned to the custody of their parents.
“The families have to be patient.
What the insurgency has done is to put the spotlight on how bad education is in
the north. The damage (poor education for Lydia) has been done and it will take
more than one year to reverse it.”
culled: TheCable
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