While the Children Slept

On the night of February 24, 2014 members of a “terrorist group”  Boko Haram, opposed to “Western Education” slipped into the school dormitories of Federal Government College, Buni-Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria.  Just before midnight,  they gathered the girls together  and told them to abandon their education,  go home and get married. The boys they murdered.  In the melee others were killed. The school buildings they burnt. 

Boko Haram claim this is in the name of Islam. But let us be clear here….this is NOT about Islam. It is NOT about religion. It is cold blooded murder by people craving power and control over an innocent population. The people of Yobe State are mainly Muslim, but this is not the Islam they subscribe to – the slaughter of sleeping children…because this horror has been wrought on children. Federal Government College Buni-Yadi is a secondary boarding school for children between the ages of 11 and 18. One of the "Unity Colleges" whose purpose is to build a united Nigeria by bringing together children from all over the country, to live and study together, to make friends and grow up more tolerant of our country's rich differences. Their only crime was the quest for an education. 

        Image source: Nigerian Nostalgia Project 1960-80 Facebook

Like others my first reaction was that this is an awful image to see on Facebook. But if you look carefully, it is not a gory picture...it is a photo of sleeping innocence. Until you realise that these boys will not be waking again. They will not scrabble with their friends for the last slice of bread on their breakfast table to dip into their ogi. They will not be straightening their beds waiting for inspection. They will not be hurriedly ironing their shirts to turn up for assembly. They will not be laughing at a classmate for getting a simple question wrong in class and eagerly offer their right response. They will not be playing football or climbing mango trees for the juiciest fruit. They will not nudge each other and grin broadly as their teenage hormones kick in, at the sight of a pretty girl classmate walking by. They will not be hiding "bad" report cards from their parents nor eagerly anticipating displays of pride and affection when they bring home glowing reports.

In fact they will not be going home to their parents' houses...because their innocent childhood has been cut short. Hormones no longer surge, emotions no longer engulf, blood no longer flows. The sounds of their laughter will no longer be heard. And when next, indeed if, their school mates gather to sing their school song “Pro Unitate” – their voices will no longer be raised in pride and a sense of belonging. Their dreams have ended and their futures are no more. They would have been our country's doctors, engineers, lawyers, agriculturalists, economists and strategists...this prospect is no more.

The Children of Yobe will always be remembered by their mothers whose pain I pray never to know; and by their fathers whose anguish will forever remain locked up inside; and by siblings who will stay confused as to why "unknown men" should do this to their brothers. But to us and the rest of the world they will be forgotten …very soon… and become statistics of some "disturbance" somewhere, in some distant place, in some remote part of Nigeria, someplace in Africa.

I hope this image goes viral. It should go viral. These boys, OUR SONS, OUR BABIES, must not be forgotten. The horror of this senseless war Boko Haram is waging on innocent people and children in particular MUST be brought to an end. We are losing count of the number of children killed in the last few months. Boys murdered, girls kidnapped and taken heaven knows where. We voice our sympathies and move on,  and as a nation we have become desensitised to images of violence, war and death. It has almost become accepted that these images will be printed across our newspapers' front pages or on our television and computer screens on a weekly if not daily basis. "E no concern me" is the attitude that prevails. Why? Is it because your life is so far removed from those of your other country men and women? Is it because you prefer to "leave it to God"? Or is it because you're hoping if you say nothing, this evil will not come your way? In one news report, this atrocity was described as "an unfortunate incident". Unfortunate???? Unfortunate is when you spill palm nut soup on your white babban riga. Unfortunate is when the the meat is not enough to have a second helping. Unfortunate is when you tea has gone cold. Unfortunate is NOT a word that describes the massacre of boys while they sleep. 

          Our leaders ask us to pray while they celebrate 100 years of Nigeria. Is this the Nigeria we dreamed of? One where girls are spirited away, boys killed in the cover of darkness and we bury our heads in the sand? Take a good look at the picture, if it moves you to tears, listen to the wails of their mothers in mourning. If you are not comfortable with it, good...it is not meant to be comfortable. Share it if you dare, because the Children of Yobe must not be forgotten and their deaths should not be in vain. If this photo galvanises people to get off their knees and demand action from our leaders, then all is not lost.

   

    Sale Mamiski

    Musa Muhammed

     Sani A. Audu

     Usman Faltu

    Inusa Ali

     Ali Ayuba

     Aliyu Yala

     Garba Jibo

    Hassani Mari

    Bukkar Maiiam Ali

    Goni Ali Babamai

    Peter John

    Abba Muhd

    Abba Adam

    Hamidu Bala

    Suleiman Lawan Guji

   Abbas Ibrahim

    Rukaya Gaji

    Auwal Adam

   Usman Saleh Idriss

.   Usman Abba Kaku

    Musa Yalti Buba

   Sadisu Dauda

   Aisha Audu Goni

   And the others who have not been accounted for…REST IN PEACE

When the Law Creates Hate and Violence

In one penstroke, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill on last month that criminalises same-sex relationships, defying pressure from Western governments to respect gay and lesbian rights.

The bill, which contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison and bans gay marriage, same-sex "amorous relationships" and membership of gay rights groups, was passed by the national assembly last May but Jonathan had delayed signing it into law. 

It appeared to receive overwhelming support in a country already divided by tribe, tongue and creed. For once the extremists on both sides are united in their belief that the gay plague should end. But how much were people really bothered before the law was passed? Perhaps we'll never know because no real poll was ever carried out. Certainly the LGBT community in Nigeria were not marching through the streets to demand their right the be wed. Like most Nigerians, their concerns were more mundane problems like getting through the traffic to get to work or worrying about when the next power cut might be or buying a top up card for their phones.

Not anymore. since the signing of this law, overnight the LGBT community find themselves criminalised and now victimised by hate mobs. Little is being talked about in the press apart from reports of arrests or of beatings meted out to men thought to be gay.

I am no writer but someone has very eloquently shared a status on her Facebook page and has agreed for me to share it, so here goes:

Facebook Status Update – A response to the Nigerian anti-gay law

By Funke Davies

I am neither anti- nor pro-gay, in the same way that I do not have even the faintest interest in which adult a 'straight' person chooses to sleep with....I simply don't care. A person's heart,values, sense of humour and intelligence are the things I consider important and not what they do in their bedrooms. There are fantastic and unlikeable people in all walks of life. We have smart homosexuals, just as we have smart heterosexuals. And there are stupid homosexuals too, afterall, they are also entitled to their own share of stupid folks. If we can respect people who have a different faith (or no faith whatsoever)to ours, dress differently to us or enjoy different pursuits to ours, right down to supporting different football clubs, then why, oh why, can't we accept that there are those who will probably never be attracted to people of the opposite sex. Why on earth do we try and shove our own beliefs about how they ought to live their lives, down their throats? Would we as adults, stand for it if we were being told what choices to make and how to live our lives? Of course not!

I am still shocked that majority are congratulating the Govt for introducing a draconian law that denies a section of society their human rights and which wasn't even needed in the first place, as the Constitution already disallowed same sex marriage, and there were no gay people in Nigeria demanding for the right to marry. I expected that people would be up in arms about the Govt invading people's privacy and so on.

Are we so lacking in compassion that we do not care if people are imprisoned for 14 years or killed for being homosexual? What has happened to us as a people? We often think if we are not directly affected by something, then it's okay. Well, it's not okay, because tomorrow it could be you or your loved ones. I am nearly in tears as I type this because I cannot believe that people are being dehumanised, and even killed for being gay, and not many people are speaking out against this barbarism.There are even rumours of homosexuals being tortured into releasing names of others. Many of us decried the horrible beatings and lynchings of robbers in our society, and even more spoke out against the Aluu 4 killings, and rightly so. So why are we quiet now?

EVERYONE needs to be worried, because it is the PRINCIPLE that matters, and not whether you are straight or gay. I have said this till I was blue in the face...this is beyond the issue of homosexuality. It affects every one of us. The Govt is overreaching here and if we don't fight now, it may be a crime to wear trousers if you're a woman, or smile , or some other nonsense, in future.... the point is, these jokers will be able to bring in any law that their tiny minds can conceive.

We have a duty to speak out in any way we can against this vile injustice....in so doing, we are setting the stage for change in our society. It might not happen in our generation, of course, but our children will be able to benefit from the foundation we have laid. As they say, little ripples make big waves. Just as the average Nigerian has gradually become desensitized to so many things , you can start to open their minds and hearts to the issues at stake. Please, please do not keep quiet. Use whatever medium is at your disposal - facebook, twitter, online forums,blackberry, whatever, and let people know that it is wrong.The blackberry is so popular in Nigeria, and for many, it has become the primary means of communication, due to the unreliable internet providers and poor landline services....use it! Don't care about what people think....let them say you are jumping on the gay rights bandwagon ( as if this is just about gay people)because you think it is 'trendy', or you are just an armchair activist or you're seeking attention or whatever (personally I've never cared what people think of me or my motives and I definitely won't start now).....the important thing is the message that has to be passed on. I go on some forums and the hate I see spewing out from people convinces me more than ever that we are in trouble. When the youths think it is okay to smash someone's head in for being gay, but see nothing wrong in some corrupt Govt official or shady MOGs fleecing their flock and living in opulence while the majority live below the poverty line, then you can see what we're up against. Let us set an example to our children and the younger generation, of what ought to be done in the face of oppression. The rights and freedoms we enjoy and take for granted today were wrestled from oppressors, by those who were not afraid to speak, fight....or in some cases, die.

For those who think this in no way concerns them, what would happen if you or a loved one had a problem with someone and they decide to pin the gay tag on you....you think it's a joke till some policemen arrive to cart you off to the station(just pray a mob does not gather).All of a sudden, your privacy is invaded in the worst possible manner as you answer all sorts of questions about your sex life or lack of one, and you are pinching yourself to see if it's a nightmare. Think It can't happen? Think again!

Another writer on the subject this time, Rudolph Okonkwo:

http://mobile.saharareporters.com/column/gay-rights-when-99-people-are-wrong