How insurgents killed sleep in Mubi

It was 1.30pm on Tuesday November 8, 2016 in Yola, the capital city of Adamawa state.Seated in a Volkswagen sedan were four of us; the driver, photographer, a colleague from Senegal and I. We set out. Our destination was Mubi town, 190 kilometres East of Yola. And our mission? To locate some women and girls […]

It was 1.30pm on Tuesday November 8, 2016 in Yola, the capital city of Adamawa state.Seated in a Volkswagen sedan were four of us; the driver, photographer, a colleague from Senegal and I.

We set out. Our destination was Mubi town, 190 kilometres East of Yola. And our mission? To locate some women and girls who had survived Boko Haram insurgents’ attacks.

In 2014, the insurgents had taken Mubi town, the next most populous city in Adamawa state after Yola. They occupied it for two months before the Nigerian army with the support of local hunters dislodged and pushed them back into the mountains.

We were to carry out case study reports on some of the victims of the insurgents’ bloody campaign. For all of us, apart from the driver, this was our first visit to Mubi.

Adamawa is one of the three states were Boko Haram insurgents have wreaked untold hardships including deaths, kidnapping, rape etc.in the last seven years; a bloody campaign that seeks to oust the Nigerian government and the imposition of misguided ideologies.Other two states are Borno and Yobe.

Some 20, 000 people have been killed or died in the last six years, two million internally displaced while 14 million are affected by the conflict most of them women and children.

Apart from starvation, many women and girls have been victims of rape, forced marriage and other related violence.

As we travel in the blazing sun, countless heads of cattle graze the fields led by youthful Fulani herders, meandering through the expansive cornfields on both sides of the road; as far as the eyes can see, disappearing into the horizon. In one particular iconic pose, we spotted a girl of about seven years leading a head of cows, with the Fulani herder’s signature grazing stick perfectly balanced in both shoulders. Oh, how I wish we could take a photo of her in that pose.

At the next check point manned by military men which was the fourth, we noticed a deliberate diversion of the road to slow down vehicles’ movement. As we approached, one of the soldiers on sentry requested that Awa, my colleague from Senegal wound down the glass on her side of the vehicle. It was a tinted glass and Awa spotted dark eye shades. He further ordered that she remove the eye glasses. She did. Afterwards, the soldier saluted her thus: “Your Excellency, sanu (Hausa word for hello).”

You won’t be wrong if you mistake Awa for a Fulani and indeed she is except that she’s Fula from Senegal. Slim, dark complexion and a petit smiling face graced by a veil over her head and shoulders, there’s no way to imagine she wasn’t a Fulani lady from Adamawa state and could not speak the Hausa language.

Short Drama before Song

A little more drama awaited us at the next checkpoint before Song, one of the agrarian communities that dot the way to Mubi.

Our vehicle had to stop some 20 meters from the position the soldiers stood until they beckon on the driver to come forward. You can’t blame them. There have been many cases of bomb attacks where insurgents dressed in suicide vests ram into security check points. The military personnel probed the driver: “Who are you? Where are you coming from and to where?” Answers given, he moved to the back of the car to inspect the luggage which were personal belongings such as clothes, shoes etc. and a set of five computers for our field officers in Mubi. With a menacing look, the soldier sought for our individual introduction and identity. Awa looked at my direction for a guide. I started; “I am Yunus Abdulhamid from Plan International…” That was followed with physical display of our identity card. As I fumbled through my bag to fetch my identity card, his face turned friendly and with a smile, he gave us the all clear: “You may go now. Sorry for the inconveniences.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s for our security,” Awa quipped.

After this, Awa learnt to wind down her tinted glass before being asked at every checkpoint and her eye glasses removed.

Local hunters

An open van conveying local hunters passed towards the opposite direction. Our driver spoke glowingly of their bravery; how they helped the military in dislodging insurgents from Mubi town two months after it fell under their control.

And then we passed Hong with the road getting worse off with more and bigger pot holes.Awa joked: “We have seen Song, and now Hong. Maybe the next one will be Dance.” General laughter followed.

As we inch closer to Mubi, we noticed a road side community by the name Kala’a. I wondered aloud: “Nigeria’s diversity is awesome. What is Kala’a?” Nigeria now about 182 million in population hasmore than 250 ethnic groups up to 500 different languages and dialects.

Bad and dusty road

The Mararaba -Mubi stretch is the worst part of the road. It’s completely damaged from use and lack of maintenance. As we put the road leading to Michika and Askira-Uba behind which where once also occupied by the rampaging insurgents, the dusty road leads us into Mubi. I remember how news were filtering into the news room in my previous job as a journalist when the insurgents took over Askira Uba. The signature description of the town is that it sits in two states; separated by a road leading to Maiduguri, capital of Borno state. One side is in Borno state, the other in Adamawa state.

And at about 5.20pm, we passed a military check point, the 9^th on the road from Yola as we are welcomed by remains of burnt and damaged banks into the city of Mubi. They were the first targets by the gunmen when they invaded the hitherto peaceful town.

Mubi invasion

On the fateful day of the invasion, even though the rumour mill had been agog of the possibility of an attack, not many believed it was possible. When the rumour eventually became reality, families were separated, friends lost touch. Everyone took shelter wherever looked safe. Some made a dash through the surrounding woods and mountains and landed in Cameroon which is only over half an hour drive, all other things being equal. Others took the epic journey to Yola on foot. Some succeeded but others were stopped on the way by the insurgents and whisked away. For instance, then 14 year-old Loveth (not her real name). She was seized in Mararaba by the gunmen on her way with other fleeing residents to Yola on foot. Along with other victims, she was taken to Askira-Uba which had also fallen. She spent three weeks in captivity until she defied fear and made an escape one night along with six others. Loveth now 16, only narrates her ordeals few words at a time, keeping the most troubling in the inner most corners of her heart, nursing the wounds in her lonely world.

Yunus Abdulhamid & Awa Faly are Communications Specialists with Plan International

[email protected]