Reconstruction of the ruined secondary school is virtually abandoned after allegedly gulping N750 million; children are crammed in a temporary school.
With market still closed, economic activities reboot at a snail speed.
Security is provided from the five entry points, the adjacent mountain and other obscure nooks.
From the military checkpoint adjacent the gate of the ruined historic Government Secondary School, which shot the town to global fame and sympathy on the fateful 14th April, 2014, when Boko Haram insurgents stormed there and carted away 219 female students, the serenity of the now well-secured big agrarian community breezed forth to welcome us.
Abiding by the military rule, we had alighted from our vehicles and trekked to a safe distance towards the town.
The global fame the tribal Kibaku town has acquired due to the infamous occurrence of three years ago has now constituted a scale to weigh whatever achievements recorded with regard to whatever promises, programmes and projects offered to it by stakeholders at whatever level of the human society over the last three years in portrayal of genuine sympathy or otherwise.
It is exactly three years today, Friday, 14th April, 2017; and the Kibaku population, aided by their well-wishers and all sorts of sympathizers and stakeholders in peace and security at whatever level of the human society with perform the annual ritual of commemorating the black Tuesday of 23014 and moaning the remaining in Boko Haram captivity of the remaining 195 of their daughters.
How is Chibok now? It tells a cheery tale; it tells a scary tale.
Mr. Yaga Yarakawa is the Chairman of Chibok Local Government Area.
“In terms of security and the resilience and endurance of our people, the situation of the community has greatly improved; in spite of the appalling occurrence of that day, our people have never been found in any IDP camp anywhere in the country,” he said.
The Chairman recalled that abduction of the girls happened on Tuesday, the residents fled to neighbouring communities, states and the mountain at the vicinity, the military liberated the town from the insurgents on Saturday, 18th April, 2014 and the people immediately began seeping back home on Sunday, 19th April, saying that since then they had never been so frightened and traumatized as to migrate.
“Now that security has greatly improved, the people feels happy and at home, not contemplating migrating anywhere; they are going about their normal businesses, especially farming, because we are essentially an agrarian community,” he said.
The town is guarded by military checkpoints at all its five known entrances, while, according to an anonymous security, trenches gave dug at strategic locations round the town As military personnel keep vigil from obscure nooks on the ground and at the adjacent mountain.
“Our only problem now is that there is no market; because of our proximity to Sambisa forest, we cannot risk allowing people to gather on a market day to avoid a situation where an insurgent sneaks and bomb them; we are not hundred percent sure that they have been completely dislodged from Sambisa, and the can try any pranks; We have very strong army and ocal vigilante, whi scare away the the boys; but our people attend markets at Damboa, Askira and Uba; we buy all our needs there; the continued closure of the market is best thing security wise; but economically, it is not, because it slows down economic activities,” the Chairman said.
“You asked about why the burnt down GSS is still desolate. It must be so. The federal government under the then President Goodluck Jonathan awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the burnt down school to military engineers; this reconstruction has gulped N750 millions, but work is abandoned; some of the work is at linter level, but most are still at DPC and foundation level.
“The then minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, only landed on a helicopter, performed the foundation Laying ceremony and flew away’ that was at the eve of the of the 2015 elections. Nothing takes place there now’ nobody is even at the construction site. The whole talk about reconstructing the school is the height of deception,” he said.
“Most of the students of the school have gained admission in other towns and villages, but those still around are attending school at the temporary site at the Central Primary School, though not as borders now but as day students. More 200 of them registered for their SSCE exams, but they are right now sitting for that in Maiduguri, because the temporary site here lacks the classrooms and sitting facilities for the exams to be organized here.
“Apart from the burnt down GSS owned by the state government we also have about five Junior Day Secondary Schools owned by the Borno SUBEB, they are coeducational; this is how our children attend schools now,” Mr. Yarakawa said.
Most of the parents of the female students who escaped abduction on Black Tuesday, immediately transferred their daughters to Adamawa state schools, especially in Numan,but transferred them back home immediately after. Such parents included, Mustapha Kaku and Maji Lawan.
“We are praying and appealing the federal government to intensify efforts for the release of the remaining 195 girls still in captivity; we are optimistic about this; we acknowledge the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Kashim Shettima and the military are doing their possible best in that direction,” he said.
Yana Galam is the leader of the mothers of the abducted girls.
“We are still traumatized,” she said, acknowledging, “the government has tried by rescuing 21 for us, we very much appreciate that, but we mothers are still traumatized; for a mother like me whose daughter, Rifkatu, is still in captivity with the insurgents, we have every cause to; since three years ago, the moment 14th April approaches, we become more trauma-stricken than ever,” she said.
“But that has not discouraged us mothers from enrolling our other children in schools, especially as the security situation has improved, so we cannot leave our other children because of the fear of abduction by Boko Haram; we are used to enrolling our children in schools, and we cannot stop now.
“Although some parents have been discouraged from allowing their children to continue schooling, especially in the surrounding villages, but most parents have allowed their children to continue going to school.
“I have been consoling and persuading the aggrieved not to be discouraged from enrolling their other children in schools, and they have been responding positively,” she said.
“We have been told that there is no more Boko Haram; so where are the rest of our daughters? We have been told that Sambisa, where our daughters were said to be in captivity, has been combed by military, so where are our daughters? Are they no more there? We want them back so that they can continue schooling, because we will not be discouraged from schooling,” she said.
Rifkatu Ayyuba is aggrieved that her daughter, Saratu Ayyuba, is still in Boko Haram captivity.
“I am still traumatized, and the trauma is worsening by the day, because if I had received news that my daughter is dead I would have been consoled, but she is not dead and she is not with me.
“Even with the rescue of the 21, we still regard as deceit the talk about efforts being made to rescue the rest; we have been praying to God.
“That has, however, not discouraged us from enrolling our other children It is a heavy burden on parents transferring their children to schools in other towns and states, but you have to consider the fact that the children have to go to school,” she said.
Chibok is gradually rebooting to normalcy, even with the pathetically slow pace of development.
