It was Monday again, the beginning of another school week Naomi prepped for school which was in the town, some distance from her village in the heart of kwara state. She bid her mom goodbye with a hug as was their tradition and wished her a bountiful harvest from their farm located at the outskirts of the village where they grew cassava, maize, millet, and tomatoes in different sections.
Never did it cross her mind that it would be the last hug she would receive from her mom,and the last smile her mum would bestow on her. On returning from school and seeing the crowd gathered at the village square the atmosphere was rant with sorrow as some people were wailing and others speaking in hushed tones. She located Iya Nafisa amongst the women wailing uncontrollably and made her way towards her, when Iya Nafisa saw her, she ran to her and embraced her, all the while apologizing for not escorting her mum to the farm that day, it was surreal to Naomi as they explained to her that herdsmen raided the farms with their cattle and killed members of the community that had gone to tend to their produce including her mum. Naomi was thrust into the world of an orphan in one day and even months later she wasn’t fully recovered from the shock. Survivors guilt and PTSD is what Naomi has to deal with daily, losing her mum, her only family to one of the numerous bandit’s raids took a toll on her mental health, she has had to cope with constant fear of such events reoccurring and the incessant rise in the nation’s insecurity is hardly comforting as daily reports of raids, kidnapping and killings arise.
Naomi’s story is one of the many others that have become almost normal to hear. Consequently, Insecurity has taken various forms in different parts of the country. In the South-West, armed robbers have taken over, while in the North, cross-border bandits operate with the ease.
However in the South-South there are rampant cases of kidnapping. Also the incessant wave of crime and armed robbery attacks, all point to the fact that insecurity is fast becoming a norm in Nigeria and have somewhat suddenly become attractive to certain individuals in seeking to resolve issues that could have ordinarily been settled through due process. The end-products lead to the decimation of innocent lives, disruption of economic activities, and destruction of properties among others.
Despite the work by some volunteer therapists to help persons like Naomi to learn to deal with loss, it is quite a formidable task, and there is lots of work to be done.
Privision of amenities to families that have lost breadwinners and their means of livelihood, is another aspect that NGOs have taken into consideration likewise building strong systems to combat the surge in insecurity though this might take a while. But it is our fight, we are to work to protect and provide for the survivors.
Nice piece