"I pray what happened to me doesn't happen to you"


Editor’s note: The release of 21 Chibok girls by Boko Haram terrorists to the federal government has elicited reactions from Nigerians. While some expressed delight at the return of some of the kidnapped girls, others like expressed doubt and insisted that it was a lie.

In this open letter by Fatima Musa who resides in Borno, she writes from the angle of a mother of one of the Chibok girls who spoke to her and addresses those who doubt the kidnap of the girls. She argues that because of political, religious and ethnic sentiments, some people chose to ignore the fact that young girls were kidnapped.

Dear doubters,

I cannot put into words the pain I have been through since 2014 when I was informed of the news of the abduction of my daughter by Boko Haram terrorist. I cried because I felt she alongside other girls who were taken from their school in Chibok would be killed immediately. I resigned myself to fate that I had lost a daughter all because I chose to send her to school.

When I heard that 56 girls had escaped from Boko Haram, my hope was raised. I wished my daughter would be one of them but alas, I was thrown into another round of tears when my girl was not one of them.

Anytime Boko Haram released photos of videos, I would scan through looking for my daughter but I never saw her. I resigned myself again to the possibility that she had died. In 2016 however, I saw a Boko Haram video in which my daughter was present. It was the most sorrowful day of my life. From a young innocent girl, she had grown into a woman. I might have seen the video more than 100 times looking for signs she was trying to communicate something with me. I found it hard to deal with how far she has aged. Her eyes were sunken and the smile I was used to was gone. My daughter looked like a stranger!

I wait for the day I will get the chance to see my daughter. A Yoruba friend said that losing a child to death is bad but losing to captors is worse. Every day, I think of my girl living among terrorists. I don’t know what she eats and if she has access to toiletries. What happens when she is sick? Would I ever get the chance to see her or will one day die?

To those people who say the kidnap of our daughter is a big lie, I pray the same thing never happens to you or someone you love before you believe it is real. Our political, ethnic or religious affiliation should not take empathy away from us. No amount of money can replace the loss of one’s child.

I pray my daughter comes back home one day to me. I have suffered a lot and my tears have dried because there is no more to come. Until that day comes, I have been asked to stay strong. I am trying to.


https://www.naij.com/1008850-chibok-mother-writes-tearful-open-letter-doubters.html

OK

hmmmm..

God knows the best....

Really sad, I just can't fathom d pains all went tru

Fayose/ffk/Reno/wailers......can you imagine her pains

Really emotional
how many likes for fatimah musa?

Chai

Where is mama peace and that dancing man? Hope they are reading the papers? I like to hear their comments.

It's not real until it is personal....
This is more sad when those in position of trust and responsibility are playing politics with human lives.
It's not that they don't know the truth but they just decide to deny the truth for cheap political "gains"; especially as that is what thier Cronnies want to hear. What they fail to understand is that history will not forgive them and we'll all answer to God one day.

EHMIR:
Really emotional
how many likes for fatimah musa?

how many wetin?

WAEC should do the needful!

May God answer Fatima Musas prayers by bringing her daughter back. Amen

To those who say it's a scam, I pray that such evil does not befall you. Speaking evil of suffering people is bad. Learning the hard way is often very traumatic. Better to keep quiet when you have nothing meaningful to say.

APC and lies