₦airaland Forum

ULOPVQ:
Excuse for your inability to construct proper English sentences.

U need it I don't.

ULOPVQ:
You really wasted the governments money, upon all the education they gave you, to construct a proper sentence is like "war" to you.

this children. You need proper English for online begging not me.

Pierocash:
It doesn't sway anything. The result had be written even before you vote

The failure will always have excuse for blame.

ULOPVQ:
See this one, that their generation had free education and were even paid for going to school to make their lives better is talking of "awoof".
Oga, please go back to bed if you have nothing meaningful doing before you begin constituting a nuisance to those around you just like you are already doing online.

All this long nonsense English said nothing but one thing about u, empty barrel.

educhigo:
Why are northerners don't join protest in nigeria about bad government and they are most people suffering the hardship in the country especially terrorist killing peoples,i thought that we are one nigeria fighting for better future.

Just because you were made to believe what you only know about the North doesn't make it entirely true. Thats why you ll always be wondering, why this? why that?

ULOPVQ:
Nigeria must surely get to its own "Canaan", and the current generation will be one to lead it there. The older generation feel that by standing in our way the will stop this movement, but many of them fail to understand that in the next 30 years they will either be alive, or weak and the movement will still be alive.

This useless generation only want awoof

Calmblaze:
My take on this a motivational speaker:

No sane country would ban its citizens from carrying out a peaceful protest.

I would advice the youths to stay calm and plan better.

These old, pot belly and selfish politicians are currently in control of everything (water, light, economy, security, money, transport etc.)

Don't forget that what is worth doing is worth doing well.

Elimination is needed (I wouldn't explain this further).

They no born any pissfool protester well

Afolabimills:
pls how is he an enemy?this govt is everything opposite of good success peace n unity buhari govt has killed more youths destroy many lives directly n indirectly.in what aspect or area has buhari govt perform? even the VP is useless

There are good things and bad things happening in this country, I don't care where you choose to dwell your focus on.
I mostly affected by the good things happening.

Yenefer:
Lies

Enemies of progress in any form.

This one i have no doubt about.
Because many people starting to realise we don't have to wait for government to get it right before we can develop ourselves.
Those that are waiting will continue complaining.

Nothing about Usman’s* demeanour is menacing. The 25-year-old, thin as a rake, radiates good cheer wherever he goes. He is often in the company of others at one of Maiduguri’s prominent displacement camps, where he lives with two of his wives. Whenever he grinsㅡand he does so generouslyㅡhis lips reveal an adorable set of buck teeth. Usman could not possibly kill a fly, one would think. But then, one would be terribly wrong.

As he settles on a brightly coloured floor mat, he leans forward, rests his left leg on the ground and keeps the other one erect to form a right-angled triangle. His sitting posture exposes hyperpigmentation in the ankle and side of his left foot, likely from frequent prayers. For the next two hours and 10 minutes, he tries to summarise the events of 13 years of his life.

Originally from Usumanari, a village in Banki District, Usman was taken to Maiduguri, Borno State capital, as an almajiri (migrant student) when he was still very young. He started attending the lectures of Mohammed Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram, in 2007 at the railway terminus. He was only 12 but he was not the only teenager enthralled by Yusuf’s biting rhetoric against the larger society.

Maiduguri’s railway district was the birthplace of Boko Haram, hosting the group’s meeting point: the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque. Yusuf, who was originally from Girgir, a village in Yobe State, had started the sect in 2002. For many years, he preached radical Islam and denounced Western education because it was “mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam”. A great orator, he succeeded in persuading thousands of young Muslims, including almajiris.

As he schooled, Usman also farmed in Chuku Ngudowa, a community in the Lake Chad region. After raising enough money, he ventured into the illegal importation of fuel through Gamboru, a market town in the Ngala Local Government Area, close to the Cameroon border. With his proceeds, he got married and soon started raising a child, and then another. Life was good.

But a crisis erupted in 2009.

There were clashes between Yusuf’s followers and police officers over a new regulation mandating the use of helmets, leading to many deaths. Yusuf, in his widely circulated lectures, invited people to jihad (holy war) and encouraged them to learn shooting, arm themselves, and be ready to sacrifice their lives “to fight the infidels”. The police doubled down, arrested even more members of the sect, and killed others. Then the insurgents themselves went on a killing rampage that did not spare even civilians.

Yusuf was eventually captured by the military and handed over to the police. Shortly afterwards, the police presented his corpse, punctured lavishly with bullets, to journalists and claimed he tried to escape. With the death of the founder, a new leader, Abubakar Shekau, emerged.

At this time, Usman was at Gamboru. Some members of Boko Haram had travelled to Maiduguri to join in the fight but he had stayed back. The situation worsened and he eventually left for his village. After some time, the late founder’s loyalists started gathering to meet and strategise. Then Shekau instructed all members to converge in Sambisa, a forest about 60 km southeast of Maiduguri that has since served as a crucial hideout for the group. Without a second thought, Usman made his way to the forest alongside his wife and children.

“We used to fight and return, fight and return,” he says, adding that he was involved in the “conquest” of Bita, Gwoza, Michika, Mubi, and some other places.

After each attack, the insurgents would share the booties and the Boko Haram leadership would buy the seized goods from them. He feels the battles were a religious duty and says many of the jihadists even complained whenever they were excluded from fighting assignments.

In the middle of raids and gunfights with military operatives, he continued his business at the Cameroon border. He would buy a litre of petrol at N500 and resell to other insurgents at the rate of N1500. He got a lot of money from these trips, he admits. While in Sambisa, he married a second wife and then a third. Again, “Life was good.”

Years into the insurgency, he relocated to Michika, a town in Adamawa State, after the Daulat (territory controlled by the jihadists) spread to the area. He spent five months there with his family before moving to other areas.

He says he got everything he wanted while in Sambisa and the only problem he experienced was military air raids, which killed and injured a lot of people, “especially women and children”.

HumAngle had reported in April that information from Boko Haram defectors and former captives suggested that military strikes did not only “neutralise” insurgents and their families but also led to the loss of innocent lives. Leadership of the terrorist group itself claimed in a video released in 2016 that some of the schoolgirls abducted two years earlier in Chibok were killed by airstrikes.
Bye, Boko Haram
“We started hearing about the Safe Corridor programme over the radio and they also threw flyers in the bush, which contained messages about it in English, Kanuri, Arabic, and Hausa,” narrates Usman.

Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters had launched Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), a multisectoral programme, in 2015 and kickstarted it a year later. Its aim was to “rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram militants and reintegrate them back into their respective communities as productive law-abiding citizens”. Despite widespread criticism from those who consider the programme premature or a misplacement of priorities, it has since gone on to graduate about 2,000 former Boko Haram members.

Usman had started regretting leaving the city for Boko Haram’s Daulat especially as his economic fortunes took a downturn. The routes outside the group’s territory were not easily accessible and, in his words, “things by then were not moving well”.

But it was not just the lack of money and space to move freely that bothered him. He also found the wanton carnage upsetting. “If they found you selling things, they would slaughter you. And when we went to war, we killed everybody except children. We began to tell ourselves that Allah would not forgive us if we ended up like this,” he says.

At first, he left Sambisa for Minimawo, a community in Cameroon. Then he discussed his plan to desert with each of his three wives. Two were glad to escape with him. The third called him crazy and said she would rather go to Nigeria as a suicide bomber. Fearing she might snitch, he lied that he was only testing her faith. He later sneaked out with the other two wives and together they travelled to Bankiㅡsometime in 2018.

Hello, Safe Corridor
Usman had barely been in Banki for a week when an operative of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) accused him of being a member of Boko Haram and reported him to the military. When the soldiers questioned him, he replied that he surrendered voluntarily and claimed he was only a Qur’an school teacher to the women back in Sambisa.

“I told them I came out because I wanted to embrace peace after reading the messages on the flyers,” he says.

He was not assaulted, he adds, except by one soldier at Bama. At Bama, he repeated his lie about working as a teacher. The military personnel then transferred him to Giwa Barracks, and then the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DRR) camp in Mallam Sidi, Gombe State.

Usman did not reveal that he was among the jihadi fighters and knew how to operate automatic rifles till his admission into the Safe Corridor programme in Gombe. “I confessed because they told us everything we did was between us and Allah, that the government had forgiven us and nothing would happen to us again,” he explains.

In total, 159 people were enrolled in the third batch of the programme, which he was part of.

The first dramatic event at the DRR camp: While the men were still in confinement, a soldier visited them and asked if there were any Christians in their midst. They replied no. He then asked if any of them were interested in becoming Christians. About 12 people raised their hands. But they later explained that they thought they would be released quickly if they converted. “How could we become Christians when we were ready to sacrifice our lives for Islam?” some of them asked sarcastically.

Vocational skills were taught at the facility including tailoring, cosmetology, welding, shoe-making, and carpentry, which Usman opted for. The ex-jihadists also attended classes on theology, civil education, and drug abuse.

One of Usman’s ugliest memories from the camp was connected to the food, which he describes as somehow. “We were often served maize flour. Sometimes, it was enough while sometimes it was not enough,” he says. “We complained to one General about the food when he came to us. He talked to them but there was no improvement.”

He later fell sick, with swelling both in his tummy and limbs, and blamed it on malnourishment. He was taken to a hospital within the state and admitted for three weeks. Throughout the period, a soldier and intelligent officer were assigned to guard him. Though he survived the episode, by his count, seven others were not so lucky.

The deaths he described may, however, not have been connected to the food served. Another person from the same batch who spoke to HumAngle described the meals as “enough”, though the latter was speaking in comparison to the notoriously cruel conditions at Giwa Barracks.

HumAngle could not reach the Defence Headquarters for comments. A call placed to a phone number associated with the agency did not scale through and an email sent to it has yet to be acknowledged.

Asked if the religious lectures had any impact on him, Usman dismissively claims they were not different from the ones he received in Sambisa, except that “boko is haram [western education is forbidden] there”. One thing he learnt from the classes though was how to interact with regular people.
Back with civilians
The former insurgents started to get uneasy after a couple of failed promises about their release. Having spent 10 months under the programme, which had far exceeded the original schedule, they opted for a protest. After some months, a graduation ceremony was held and classes stopped being held. Three weeks later, they resumed some of the lectures to revise what they had learnt.

“They told us people in Borno were not ready to receive us. We kept waiting and they kept telling us different stories,” Usman recalls, adding that the participants remained adamant regardless.

One day, they decided to embark on a hunger strike, which lasted 48 hours.

“They asked what we wanted and we told them we wanted to be released. They kept appealing to us but we insisted we wouldn’t eat. We told them they were infidels and this was their habit. Then they locked us up thinking we wanted to escape. We said we just wanted to be released and if we wanted to escape, we would have done so.”

That night, additional troops were invited and stationed at the camp. Two days later, the participants were assembled and they maintained their position. The next three or so days, the authorities asked them to have their bath in preparation for release. They also handed them N20,000 each.

But they were not introduced back into society right away. First, the military transferred them to the Umaru Shehu Rehabilitation Centre in Maiduguri, where they spent months learning different skills. Again, the military was reluctant to release them after they had spent the agreed time.

“We protested. After three months, we told them we have spent the money we were given in Gombe, so they should release us. We are tired of staying here. Some of us started to abuse the IOM (International Organization for Migration) officials,” he narrates.

The authorities informed a commissioner from the Borno State government about the development. They were released the next day. Some of them got materials from the IOM to enable them to start businesses; others did not.

A grinding machine donated to IDPs such as Usman, with which they mill flour, millets, and sorghum at the displacement camp.
A grinding machine donated to IDPs such as Usman, with which they mill flour, millets, and sorghum at the displacement camp.
Back with family
After his arrival at an IDP camp in the state capital, Usman was eager to reunite with his wives, whom he had not seen in over a year. He learnt that one of them was in Miniwawu, a town in Cameroon, while the second was in Banki with his two childrenㅡand a new husband. He was heartbroken.

The old Usman would have taken the law into his own handsㅡhe, in fact, swears that the man would not have lived to see the next day. But the new Usman had another idea. With the help of a patron popular among the IDPs, he filed a petition at a court in Bama and got his wife back.

He sent about N14,000 to his second wife in Cameroon for transportation expenses and, today, all three are together.

A grinding machine that has ground to halt due to lack of maintenance at the Muna Garage IDP camp, Maiduguri.
A grinding machine that has ground to halt due to lack of maintenance at the Muna Garage IDP camp, Maiduguri.
Life as an IDP
“It is very hard,” he acknowledges. “Things have changed. But it is destiny.”

For Usman, it feels like a reversal in fortunes. While in the bush, he was not only a powerful fighter who commanded respect and instilled fear, he was also a highly prosperous businessman. Even while he was an almajiri, he made more than enough money from trading and farming in the Lake Chad region. Now, he struggles to fulfil his obligations as a breadwinner.

The IOM gave him and another Safe Corridor alumnus a grinding machine about a week to his interview with HumAngle. But he had to borrow money to set it up and get fuel to run it. Though he has a food ticket that entitles him to a monthly allowance of N17,000, it is not enough to cater for his large family.

“There is also the problem of stigmatisation,” he adds. “People talk about us … but not to our face.”

From interacting with other displaced people, some of them have become aware of his infamous past. But he also heard stories that moved him, especially from former detainees at the Giwa Barracks. “Some were not even members of Boko Haram but they really suffered,” he says. The “some” included three of his own brothers, who now also live in Maiduguri after they were released.

Usman is still in touch with many of his colleagues during the Safe Corridor programme. Discouraged by the lack of resources and the government’s failed promises of supporting them to turn a new chapter, some now regret deserting and are giving a thought to returning to Sambisa. But not Usman.

After hearing the question, he chuckles sheepishly, stares at the floor, and distracts himself by fiddling with strands from the plastic floor mat. Though, while in Gombe, he had told the authorities there was no way he could rejoin Boko Haram as they could not possibly trust him enough, all roads to Sambisa are not shut to him yet. All he has to do, he says, is change his location and join a different cell of fighters.

“I know the routes, but I wouldn’t go back because I have left this thing for good,” he finally guarantees.

But does Usman want the decade-long insurgency to end? “Yes,” he replies, “especially since we have now become part of the ‘awaam [ordinary people].”

He then explains why he thinks only military force can end the wave of violence for good: “Back in the bush, there were small boys that were coming up and have been indoctrinated. They are the ones taking over. And they are even more zealous and brutal.”
https://humangle.ng/the-deradicalised-1-one-mans-journey-from-almajiri-to-jihadist-and-then-idp/

Fahdiga:
Even after lavishing the money Aboki is still Aboki

And pig will be pig.

Goldp5988:
3rd wife, and the lady is happy, GOD have mercy oh.

Evening newspaper gags with their poor understanding of marriage will be disturbing God later in life for your choices.

googlepikins:
Set of useless almajiris in government.

In a sane country like Ghana, all these almajiris won't be allowed to be councilors let alone ministers.

But see how lucky they are in a shit hole country that is sinking year in year out.

Thank God they are giving you sleepless nights.
That one alone is an achievement for us.

Sleekfingers:
is the north not the worst place to live? The problem of the north is beyond looking inwards...we need urgent international help....boko haram is connected to high level world terrorist groups e.g al qaeda, Isis etc......nigeria cannot defeat boko haram on her own....

U don't understand

tutin:
They only thing you could say with your last two brain cells.

No idiot will have much of my time. Thats all u got

Ykc2:
say it we dont care, this is what is called baby factory and child trafficking

Child trafficking headquarters of the world

seanwiIIiam:
[s][/s] will you shut up and stop displaying your stupidity on a public forum

U must be typing this from baby factory

tutin:
That wouldn't make sense because the east has the least child trafficking cases in Nigeria, and the least crime cases in Nigeria as a whole. The north is known for their bandits and it's a very big issue.

https://punchng.com/seast-safest-place-live-says-un/#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Development%20Programme,Development%20Report%20for%20Nigeria%2C%202016.

I think you should focus on what is ruining the north and the west before coming to attack the east; nowhere in the article did they mention east, but your immense obsession with the east (Igbos) will make you mention them.

Anyways, I seriously don't know why you guys just can't stop thinking about the Igbos. They are not your problem, your politicians are your problem, the moment we wake up from tribal sentiments, the earlier we progress as a nation.

These are the kinds of things that will make us more divided, and make the din for the Biafra that you so much despise. Please stop this tribal sentiments, before I say something that will lead me to ban again, and will hurt you internally.

Crap
Headquarters of baby factories

As if they're following any constitution in embezzlement of public funds.
The problem if this country was never or is the constitution except you limit yourself to see it just that.

Etrusen:
north is the land of banditry nothing else

This is just like saying East is the land of child trafficking nothing else.

In Nigeria each region has it own share of unfortunate events but trying to outcry one another is just a calling foreign donors.
Most of our problems are self inflicted that we just need to look inward for solutions

I don't knw why this government thinks cash sharing is the solution to economic crisis in this country.
U can only do that in an economy where things are working and lower unemployment rate but in Nigeria where 90% are poor and our economic problems are like forever deteriorating, cash transfers will only put more burden on economy and creates more corruption and embezzlement.

atobs4real:
They have promised to reduce the clearing or vehicles from 35% to 5%. Wait you shall see

They are only planing to reduce the levy, which is only new cars paying. 35% duty plus 35% levy is what new cars paying now.
Tokunbo cars only pay duty 35% without the levy and FG didn't say anything on reducing the duty of used cars but reduce for tractors and vehicles for transporting goods.

iamDrRhymes:
I thought the federal government has reduced import fees for vehicles from 35% to 5%? Just asking please.

They are only planing to reduce the levy, which is only new cars paying. 35% duty plus 35% levy is what new cars paying now.
Tokunbo cars only pay duty 35% without the levy and FG didn't say anything on reducing the duty of used cars but reduce for tractors and vehicles for transporting goods.

God saves Africa from Corona virus.

Just like every year since 2011 I'm seeing progress in my life. 2020 is one of the best.

And alot more

bigpriik:
Then what are they waiting for ,this is what we've bring hearing since 10years now..

Ist only up to the north to restructure this country?

fuckingAyaya:
Aboki's so much love their oppressors

Aboki matter denying joy of life for you these days.

It may be respect for an elder
It may be a political eye service
Jus don't kill yourself over it.

Chinemeremjosh0:
Tomorrow one stupid almajiri will come here to tell us that nobody was killed in obigbo!! May God punish anyone supporting this evil going on in this shitole

Any useless ipod terrorists that died got what he deserved

Donald7610:
There is nothing produced by the northern ppl that cannot be done better in the south

Ogun state can grow any crop grows in the north
Fertile land with water

You keep telling this nonsense but still the truth remains the reality.

Fineman87:
Lol. Greed is the problem with the black man.

The main source of our problems