15-year old Maryam’s story on why she will never return to Chibok will break you

According to nigeriacamera Maryam Abba’s story is one which shows how residents of the Chibok community might take years or decades to let go of all they have experienced and continue to experience in the hands of terrorists.Just this month, the world marked the one year of the Chibok kidnap incident in which almost 300 girls were forcibly abducted from Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS), Chibok in Borno State.

Even families who did not have kids in that school are still haunted by the memory. One example is Maryam Abba, who only escped narrowly when the gunmen visited the school.

Although she was a student of the school, the 15-year-old Maryam Abba, left the school for home just a few hours before the incident.

“I had to flee Chibok because I have never been at ease since the day my seniors were forcefully taken away from our dormitories … If not for sheer providence, I would have been one of them,” Maryam said.

Weekly trust reports the sad story of Abba in its weekend edition. Read below:

    Maryam Abba recalled with nostalgia, the last moment she had with some of the famous Chibok school girls who were taken away and expressed skepticism about their return.

    “I always remember my aunties like Abigail B. Kaigama, Deborah Abbas and Yagana Markus, among many others. We were together on the 13th April, 2014 but I went home towards evening to see my mother because I didn’t have exams the next day,” she recalled.

    At the time of the abductions, Maryam and her mates were writing the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSCE) while their seniors were writing the Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE).

    Our correspondent met Maryam at a school for orphans in Maiduguri which is being run by Mr. Zannah Mustapha, the founder of Future Prowess Foundation.

    Maryam lost her father many years ago and was being supported by her mother, a native of Chibok, before the incident in her school.

    “I only heard of the abductions in the morning and honestly, the news was unbelievable … Some of us had to go to the school where we only met ruined buildings and scattered bunks … our aunties were nowhere to be found,” she said ruefully.

    And for the next eight months, Maryam remained in Chibok together with her mother and siblings until when many violent incidents, including attacks on the town and neighboring communities, forced her to flee.

    “After the closure of our school, we remained at home, constantly thinking that our aunties would return. However, instead of seeing brighter days, the abductions only succeeded in taking Chibok to limelight that did not in any way benefit us, rather, the fame only succeeded in attracting more attacks by the Boko Haram assailants,” Maryam said with regret.

    “In fact, everything was boring; there was no school, no good food and no hope for the future. That was why I decided to leave for Maiduguri in order to find respite, I convinced myself to leave so as to remain alive,” she added.

    Weekly Trust reports that between April 2014 and February 2015, Chibok and surrounding villages were attacked by the once dreaded Boko Haram insurgents more than 10 times, leading to death of hundreds of people and destruction of many houses, farms and domestic animals.

At a recent press conference in Maiduguri, the caretaker chairman of Chibok, Bana Lawan, said they have lost over 300 of their people as a result of constant attacks by the insurgents, who are now on the run following intensified military onslaught on their erstwhile strongholds.

“I don’t want to be killed or be abducted like my aunties … I want to have a better life so that I can complete my studies and then support my mother who has been suffering in order to make me comfortable,” Maryam said.

On how she found herself at the orphanage school, Maryam said she first went to the house of her relatives along Damboa Road in Maiduguri and one of her cousins asked her to escort her to Future Prowess in order to see the proprietor who was looking for admission for her.

“We met Barrister Zannah Mustapha who is looking for admission for her and when he saw me, he asked of my background and after explaining everything to him, he offered me admission in his school and gave me books and uniforms. He also promised that he will continue to shoulder my responsibilities,” she stated.

Since that day, Maryam’s life has changed significantly and Zanna has already secured admission for her at the Queen Amina College in Zaria where she will continue with her studies.

“I never thought I would have a new lease of life within a short time, it is really pleasurable to be in this orphanage, in the midst of many orphans, everything is going smoothly and our future is assured,” Maryam remarked.

She however recalled with nostalgia, her mother and siblings who are still in Chibok: “I am terribly missing my mother but I have no option but to leave, I am sure we would see one day but honestly I would never go back to Chibok, I feel terribly bad and unsecured there and the most regrettable part of our travail is that the federal government did not do anything serious to secure my aunties. I feel if the right thing was done, our seniors would have come back home by now.”

The headmaster of the Future Prowess, Aminu Abadam, said on the day she was taken to the orphanage, Maryam was visibly terrified. He added that they have completed plans to take her to Zaria where she will join others that were initially enrolled at the foundation in order to further her education.

“At present, she is among many orphans who are learning both Islamic and Western education. So far, we have about 750 orphans under our tutelage for both morning and evening sessions,” Abadam said. He added that the proprietor offers education, meals, books and other basic needs free of charge to the orphans.

“Taking care of them has not been easy but Barrister (Zannah) is doing his best all the time, including paying the salaries of teachers. In fact, nobody is complaining,” Abadam said.
On his part, Zannah said he finds pleasure in touching the lives of people who are in distress.

“Maryam seems to be an exceptional child who refused to allow the predicament she found herself in to demoralise her. We would do everything possible to ensure that she actualizes her dreams,” he said.