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 TheCable 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 told TheCable 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.
Lydia’s aunt (pictured left) and a friend at her Lagos apartment |
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.
Lydia (in the middle) with her parents |
“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 told
TheCable of 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.
Oyebode |
“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.”
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