UNTOLD STORY: BEHIND THE SMILE

Ijai a boy of 6 years old is an only child of his parents Mr. and Mrs. Musa Gadzama, his mother Hauwa found out after giving birth to him that she wasn’t going to be able to have any more children due to complications she encountered during childbirth. His parents loved him, and made sure he never lacked anything a child needed with much emphasizes on education. Although, being an only child, his parents never spoilt him with pampering instead they taught him good moral values with the hope of him becoming a responsible young man later in life. Ijai’s father Musa worked at the local government secretariat and his mother Hauwa was a ward attendant at the Clinic in Gulak, Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Aside from their daily jobs Musa and Hauwa engaged in farming to support the family and Ijai was privileged to attend a good school due to his parents hard work, as this has been their dreams for him. For Ijai, growing up in Gulak was fun, life was simple and quiet and he loved going to school, his best subject was Mathematics. His best friend Jabani attended the same school with him and they were inseparable, they were never found wanting and their neighbors loved them. If they were not in school, they were out helping their parents in the fields with farm work during weekends. Ijai was always a happy kid, always contented and thankful for the life of his parents, but little did he know that his life was about to change.

That fateful Saturday evening, Hauwa prepared a delicious meal for her family after a hard day’s work at the farm, after eating they sat under the moon light as Musa told them folklore tales of the great Marghi kingdom, this was Ijai’s favorite part of the evening listening to his father telling the tales like no other. At about 10 pm they retired to bed, two hours later they came like a flood from the shadows men armed in large numbers on a rampage known as Boko Haram killing men, setting the town ablaze, abducting women and children loading them in trucks. Ijai thought it was just a terrible nightmare, suddenly he opened his eyes jumping out of bed calling to his mom who couldn’t answer because she and his Father Musa were held captives in their own compound by members of the terrorist group Boko Haram. The town was illuminated with the blazing fire of burning houses so one could see clearly as if it was day time, he watch from under the door how three of those savages took turns raping his mother while they made his father watch after which they killed him making Hauwa watch the painful death of her husband, they dragged her to the truck and poor Ijai watched it all as he laid shocked with tears flowing down his cheeks knowing that he was now an orphan, he knew he had to escape before they found him out. As they were busy loading their trucks with food items from Musa’s barn, Ijai quietly sneaked out through the back of the house into his friend’s compound only to find Jabani and his family dead. Now he’s all alone and in his quest to survive, he ran all night through the forests and mountains for a week until he was rescued by the Nigerian Army who took him to the IDP camp at NYSC orientation camp in Yola. Life was pretty difficult with no parents to guide him and no one to reassure him that everything is going to be OK. Despite all these challenges, Ijai never gave up hope on his dreams of becoming an Engineer in the near future. A family of nine took him in at the camp but they barely had enough to eat, so Ijai resorted to taking menial jobs as a house help in homes of elites in the city of Yola to help out with some of the expenses but most of all to save for his tuition fee despite the meagre pay he remained focused and determined. Whenever he was less busy, he would revise what he has learnt in school before the insurgency. Because of his dedication, hard work and good character soon the people he worked for took interest in him and when they finally heard his story. They took pity on him and decided to help him fulfil his dreams and aspirations but most of all to give him what he has long yearned for, a family. After going through the due process of adoption in July 2016, Dr. and Mrs. Danladi Kiri became Ijai’s legal parents. Unfortunately, not all orphans are as lucky as Ijai, especially those with no families to go home to when they eventually leave the IDP camps. I would like to call on the Federal Government, Civil Society and Nigerians at large to give these children a reason to live by proving them a home to experience that love, security they have always yearned for so that they would not be radicalized by the same group of people who caused them this great pain and the vicious cycle is repeated all over again but this time, even more dangerous and disastrous. #NotAnotherNigerian, #CounteringViolentExtremism begins with you!!!!!!
