As the people of Chibok, Borno State reflect on the 10th year of the kidnap by Boko Haram of 276 school girls, some of freed capatives have revealed their frustrations in settling back to normal life.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari while receiving some of the freed Chibok Girls kidnapped during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had promised to rehabilitate them by keeping them in protected environment and also sponsor their education.
Out of the 276 girls over 180 have regained their freedom from Boko Haram captivity, some of them were lucky to travel abroad for studies, while some other kept and fed by the government wish they were back in Sambisa Forest.
“I do regret coming back,” said one of the girls kept in the rehabilitation center Maiduguri, Borno State.
“Sometimes I cry when I remember. I ask myself: ‘Why did I even leave Sambisa to come back to Nigeria, only to come and face such degrading treatment, being insulted almost daily?’ I never experienced such heartache while I was in Sambisa.”
She disclosed that under state care; basic provisions like food and soap are not enough, her movements are closely watched and restricted by security guards and she has been subjected to verbal abuse from staff at the group home.
“They yell at us all the time, I am deeply unhappy,” she says.
“I had more freedom at the Boko Haram camp than I do here.”
Rakiya Gali is another Chibok girl – she escaped from Boko Haram in 2017.
Rakiya says she does not receive any financial support and like Amina pays for her son’s education with the money she makes from farming, despite promises from the government.
“The government has been unfair to us,”
“They knew that we went into [Sambisa forest] and came back with children. If they cannot help us, then who will help us?”
In addition to the financial burden, Rakiya lives in fear, as her town is still being attacked by Boko Haram. She says militants recently burned down her son’s school.
“Whenever I hear any sound, I think it is a gunshot,” she says.
She added that the girls still in captivity would stay with Boko Haram if they could see how she and those who escaped are living outside the camp.
“When [the girls] return [they] will come join us in this situation,” said Rukiya
“I would say it is better to stay [in Sambisa forest] with the child and the father will provide support, rather than going through this trouble.”
Another girl Amina Ali who was the first of the Chibok captives to escape after spend two years and forced to marry one of her captors, also expressed her frustration in freedom.
Amina’s escape in 2016 was accompanied by huge fanfare and relief.
After being debriefed by the military, she met government officials including then President Muhammadu Buhari, who said the course of her life would change for the better.
“[The president said] he’s going to take care of us and send us to school and even our children too,” Amina recalls.
“Because it’s not our fault to find ourselves in that situation and the children too, they don’t know anything. They’re innocent. So he’s going to take care of them.”
Amina now lives in Yola, about five hours away from Chibok by road, and shares a small room with her daughter. They share an outdoor bathroom with a neighbour and she cooks on firewood outside.
She receives N20,000 a month to cover everyday expenses but nothing for her daughter’s education, despite the government’s promises. She pays that bill herself with the little money she makes from farming.
“It’s hard for me to look after my daughter,” she says. “What can I do? I have to do it because I don’t have anyone.”
Amina is balancing raising her daughter while studying at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), a private and elite institution.
AUN is the only option Amina and the other Chibok girls were given to resume their studies, but many of them have struggled to keep up and some have dropped out.
“We didn’t choose AUN because we know the school standards are difficult for us, we girls come from poor backgrounds,” she says. “The former minister forced us to come to this school.”
Amina has attended AUN since 2017, but is not close to graduating. Only one of the former captives has graduated.
Women’s Affairs Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye says the government has been paying AUN roughly $350,000 a year for the Chibok girls and their education over the last six years.
It is an arrangement she says will be reviewed.
“I’m not paying nobody that kind of money. Even if they put it on the budget, I will not release the money,” she says.
“The girls should be considered first and foremost. School is important, first and foremost. But you don’t go to school on an empty stomach.” With BBC reports
We were better off in Sambisa Forest with Boko Haram, freed Chibok Girls lament unkept govt promises
