1. Dear Patience Dame Jonathan, I want to use this medium to congratulate you on the just concluded wedding of your Daughter.
2. I really do wish her the best of connubial bliss.
3. Dame, there is this issue that bothers me and every other well meaning Nigerian.
4. This issue i suppose is pertinent to you and the natıon, ıt degenerates the brand Nıgerıa, but you seem mute over it.
5. Its about Mrs Halimat Galadama, her name doesn't ring a bell right.
6. Mrs Halimat is at the base of the heirachy prism of social and financial strata, Nigeria doesnt keep birth record, so you cant find her in a non exıstential Data base.
7. She is a middle aged woman about 42, she resides in Chibok, an obscure village in Borno State.
8.Mrs Halimat's daughter(Zainab) is amongst the 234 girls who has been abducted for 15days and taken to a certain sambisa forest.
9. Mrs Halimat fought "tooth and nail" to see Zainab and her siblings get education, even if it was not of high quality.
10. She had so many conflicts with her husband and in-laws about the girl child not going to school and getting married off at thirteen!.
11. She was ready to oppose the predisposition of illiteracy, "yerima marriage" and recycled poverty.
12. After much marital pleading and confrontations, her husband agreed to send Zainab to school, and not beyond secondary education.
13. Dats why Zainab is 18 and still in JSS3, a rare occurence in the south-west region.
14. Even though Zainab is still in school, she had been betrothed to a certain Mallam Nuhu Shinkafi.
15. Nuhu Shinkafi is the younger brother to the village head of choibok, he his 42 and has 3 other girls betrothed to him already.
16. It's been over 2 weeks and Zainab along other gırls are still missing.
17. Mrs Halimat doesnt understand why Zainab and other girls were abducted in school.
18. She has been wailing consistently for two weeks.
19. She has turned pale, she has not been eating her low nutritional content meal.
20. She is bewildered, confused, heart-broken and has started experiencing trauma.
21. Two days ago, she called out to Zainab and see if she would answer but there was no response.
22. She goes to her room every morning trying to wake her to get to school; she has been hallucinating.
23. Her husband has put all the blame on her, "i told you, I didnt want to send this girl to school he would say"
24. He has threatened to throw her out or into the sambisa bush, if she doesnt bring back his child.
25. This implies that there is automatically no education for Mariam (her younger daughter).
26. Mrs Halimat just wishes she could turn back the hands of time.
27. The atmosphere in her home is precarious, her husband is getting aggressive.
28. He hit her so badly a forthnight back, tore her veil and pushed her out, where she spent the whole night wailing.
29. She has been to the office of the local goverment at Chibok, Herself and other bereaved women.
30. The chairman says, the situation is beyond his political might.
31. He recommends she directs her pleas to the state Governor and other security agents.
32. Herself and other women decided to go in search of their daughters in company of local security watchs.
33. With poorly oiled lanterns, in the direction of sambisa forest they marched.
34. A lantern is a mesolithic lightning system before the wide spread of electricity in sub-saharan Africa.
35. A march of anger, sorrow and tears into the forest of human demons.
36. Amidst the poor ecological ambience of the savannah plate, snake bites, tree tears and whistle, yet they march on.
37. As they marched local farmers shooked their heads in pain and pity.
38. Suddenly, they came to a halt!do not go beyond this boundary,a wretched old man adorned with dirty beards said.
39. The last ones who crossed here didnt return and their bodies were dumped by men who had guns and catridges around their body, he said.
40. Their corpses rotted away and some others were feasted upon by hungry vultures.
41. Mrs Halimat became volatile to these hearkenings, she flung the lantern in her hands and threw herself on the ground.
42. There was a palpable silence, all mothers with heads bowed, engulfed in disappointment of not finding their daughters.
43. They retreated, surrendered their frail weapons of hoes and cutlasses, Mrs Halimat dropped a note at the boundary foot hoping the human demons find it.
44. The note stated thus "Ya'yanmu mata na da laifi, ina roƙonka ka bar su su je" which literally translates to "our daughters are innocent, please let them go".
45. They had lost a war that hadn't even started.
46. She travelled back in her memoirs, during political campaigns, she stood four different days under the lashing and scourging sun.
47. She thumbprinted during elections, giving her mandate to an unknown, but believing hope was on its way.
48. She remembered giving birth to Zainab amidst labour pains, the harsh treatment in the hands of the mid wives.
49. The men whom she entrusted her mandates of civic rights have failed her. She was hopeless and helpless.
50. The dreams, hopes and fears she shared with Zainab as a child, all were heading into a mirage.
51. A'a, AllahYa sa ni? she muttered to herself, she is never going to meet with Zainab again as tears begin to cascade down her face.
52. She tries to imagine the situation of Zainab; the carnage, lust, defilement and forceful marriage. She closes her eyes and stops the imagination.
53.Mallam Nuhu Shinkafi is back, an ultimatum has been issued as an agreement was reached.
54. Mariam will be paying for sins even Zainab didn't commit.
55. Mariam's forceful child marriage to Mallam Nuhu holds Next week at chibok in Borno state, its not going to be a gala event.
56. Dame Patience, i suggest you just returned from your elder daughters home and the little one is doing just fine in your bossom.
57. Dame, the women of chıbok and well meaning Nigerians needs you to emphatise and act on the releasal of over 234 innocent girls.
58. Mama P, you have been too mute on the chibok perilious ambience.
59. Mama P, you sure have the political power, the human capability but its the will i am not sure of.
60. Mama P, 234 mothers dont know where their daughters her, 234 mothers cant sleep, 234 mothers are in trauma and 234 homes are ın agony.
61. What a life for Mrs Halimat, Zainab is missing and Mariam is being forced into early marriage.
62. I commit Mrs Halimat and traumatised mothers to God and the word of His Grace.
63. A well meaning Nigerian, Aladeniking.
Babatunde "Aladeniking" Aladeloba is a prolific writer and public speaker.
You can follow him on twitter @aladeniking.
Gracias!
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