The Tragedy of a Nation
Life as she knew it could never be the same again since she lost her husband two years earlier. It was not just her new normal, but a new normal for the entire village. Everyone now slept with one eye open. You never knew when an attack could happen. It had been relentless and Hajjo lost her husband in one of those attacks. It had happened suddenly, viciously and unannounced.
They had woken up to screams all around them and to fire on their thatched roof. They were being burnt alive in their hut. Pregnant Hajjo grabbed one of the boys while her husband grabbed the other. They all ran out with only the clothes on their backs unaware of the horrors that still awaited them. That night, Hajjo’s husband along with some men in the village paid the ultimate price. The Fulani herdsmen slaughtered them.
Its the 10th of July 2020, just another day in Hajjos life. Having been widowed two years earlier, she had had to move to Chibwob village to restart a new life with her three children. This was part of the generosity of her in-laws and she couldn’t thank them enough. It had been a long rainy day and the night air was cool and sleep friendly. They had decided to turn in early as was the norm on rainy nights. Even the mosquitoes seemed to be on their best behaviour.
Suddenly, Hajjo was jolted awake by gun shots. In her foggy mind, she thought it to be the local vigilantes warning off any predators. With all the recent attacks on the nearby settlements, the village chiefs had decided to create local vigilante groups with dane guns to offer a sense of security to Chibwob. Their dane guns were no match to the sophisticated AK47s the Fulani herdsmen carried. They knew it but decided it was better than nothing. There was no relying on the government for any kind of protection. It was looking more and more like a high level conspiracy, a genocide to eradicate Christians within the Middle Belt of the country. One bold Magazine aptly called it the killing fields of Nigeria.
Hajjo suddenly jerked out of her sleep as she realised the intensity of the gun shots. These were not dane guns but sophisticated rifles. For the second time in as many years, she shook her boys awake and grabbed her two year old toddler. She tied her wrapper on her chest and hurriedly picked an extra one to strap the baby to her back. Chibwob village was under attack and it was all bedlam. They ran to their neighbours house but it was empty. In confusion, they ran back home and locked themselves into their small kitchen. Loud screams and gun shots continued all around them. Hajjo opened the door and screamed “run” to her boys. They all took off towards the hills as other villagers joined them in an almost stampede. It was difficult running with the toddler on her back and trying to keep steady on such rough terrain. To make matters worse, they were not wearing shoes. She looked back and saw the village on fire as bullets continued flying all round.
In all the confusion, Hajjo was unable to hold on to her two boys, more so with the little girl on her back. They eventually got separated as they ran for their lives. She could only but pray for God’s protection over them all. After what seemed like forever, she got to a river bank. The only option was to cross as there was no way of going back to where they were coming from. It was almost a literal story of being between the devil and the deep blue sea. She stepped into the river and started walking gingerly across. It was getting deeper by the minute and she could feel her baby clutching her in fear. The water got neck deep but there was nothing she could do but to keep on walking. The pull of the flow was so strong that she lost her footing and went down, gulping some silty water. She was so panic stricken, was this the end! Could she still make it across with the baby? She managed to come up for air but was till unsteady on her feet. Once again, she got swept under as the water covered her and dragged her further down the river. Miraculously, she began to feel the bottom of the river as she struggled to the bank. She had made it across, she was still alive.
Suddenly Hajjo realised her back was empty. The little girl was gone. She also realised that she was naked, the current having pulled off her wrappers. She broke down hysterically crying and shouting for her baby. Rahila!!! Rahila!! She ran beside the bank trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of her little girl. She searched for hours until the break of dawn. She refused to believe that she had let her baby drown. What kind of a mother was she? Had she also lost her boys? Hajjo was inconsolable.
She continued walking in a blur until she got to the next village. She knocked on the first door she came to and explained what had happened to her. They gave her clothes and comforted her as best as they could. The next day, all the survivors were taken to the Internally Displaced Peoples camp (IDP) in Zonkwa. Hajjo was reconciled with her two sons but her daughter still hasn’t been found as at today, 15th of August 2020.
This is the sad reality of what has been going on in the killing fields of Nigeria for the past two decades. Many have lost their lives and are still losing their lives daily. The Middle Belt has been under a siege by the Boko Haram and other Islamic terrorist groups. The head of the Boko Haram sect boldly said in one of his videos that they would wipe out Christianity in Nigeria and all forms of unacceptable Islam. The newest kid on the block however is the Fulani Herdsmen. They graze their cattle lazily with AK47s casually flung over their shoulders. They are very organised, widespread and systematic in their attacks. They receive supplies via helicopters at all hours. Found in clusters planted all over the middle belt, they plunder and kill Christians in the most dehumanising of ways. Pregnant women and children are sometimes not spared. Victims are given the choice of either renouncing their faith or paying with their lives. Most times than not, these defenceless people are executed before their family members. There is the story of a grand mother who was made to witness the killing of her son, his wife and the grand children. She was deliberately left as the lone survivor.
Is this a genocide? Yes it is. The reason is because there is an on going intentional destruction of a targeted group. The dominant narrative however is that this is a “farmer versus herders clash” or its a problem of “land disputes”. Some even allude it to climate change and the desertification of the country. Gathered data however suggests otherwise. There seems to be a concerted effort to wipe out the Christians within the Middle Belt States of Nigeria ( i.e Plateau, Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa etc). Ofcourse, the goverment will always condemn this action in no uncertain terms but that’s where it would always end. In it all, no body has ever been brought to book. No one has been arrested nor charged. On the contrary however, any community that attempted to defend itself with weapons was promptly apprehended and arms swiftly seized.
Where do we go from here? What can be done?
for more information, google Christian Persecution in Nigeria, the Killing Fields of Nigeria, ICON Genocide Report
This is not an original story. I’ve simply rewritten it because it made an impact on me. Thanks for reading my blog and don’t forget to leave a comment. I do love hearing from you. You can access older stories below the comments section. Yes, you can share, share, share. 👌😘