And so, they gathered at the Government House, Maiduguri, in 2013 as guests of Governor Kashim Shettima. For those who were privy to their mission at the Government House, there was palpable silence as words failed on the arrival of the August visitors. The young army of orphans were at the Government House for Iftar (breaking of the Ramadan fast) with the Borno State number 1 citizen. As they took their seats, the blood ran cold as one was certain that these young innocent ones would no longer have the embrace of mother or father any longer, neither would they have the protection of their parents. The thought became deep, penetrating the heart the more, as they were children, who suddenly discovered themselves in a situation they could not comprehend in a world that turned hostile to them in the twinkle of a second for no cause of theirs. Poor children!
The gravity of the situation had yet to dawn on them. They were the wailing children, the victims of unprovoked attacks. Indeed, the grim reminder of the sad tales left behind by the prowling insurgents.
Orphans aside, the bane of the terrorists or insurgents Governor Shettima had to contend with include broken homes, widows, severed limbs, tattered lives, headless corpses, devastated economic and ruins of private and public infrastructure, including educational institutions.
Governor Kashim Shettima told the 50 orphans to regard him as their father and promised that he would do all possible to make life worthy of living for them. He announced the award of scholarship to the 50 orphans, complimented with gifts and goodies. While trying to make the children feel at home, Shettima jokingly requested from them to tell him stories and from this request, the governor got the unexpected as he was given the good and bad stories. Shettima was visibly moved and almost in tears when one of the children, a girl, painted a vivid picture of how her parents were butchered in her presence in their Budum ward residence in the state capital. She narrated how the parents pleaded passionately with the attackers to spare their lives for the sake of their children, but they were defiant and went ahead and slaughtered them while she watched helplessly. Then came another sordid and pathetic story from a boy who explained the massacre of his father before his two eyes, helpless, as they slit his father’s throat.
Before now and thereafter, the Shettima administration had been saddled with increase of orphans and widows and, as at the last official count, the number of orphans stood at over 50,000. It is this number that the governor has resolved to make life more meaningful for as he vowed they would never be outcasts.
As a major step, Shettima unequivocally decided that the affected orphans must be educated first before anything else. Hence, the idea of the Mega Schools programme dedicated mostly to the victims of the insurgency. The infrastructure for the schools has since been in place. The Mega Schools came to fruition at the very time Governor Shettima was sensitising the educational system in the state to quality control and results.
Penultimate week, Gov. Shettima inaugurated a 29-man Mega Schools Committee in Maiduguri. The committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa, is saddled with the responsibility of enrolling orphans, Fulani Mboraji and pupils from the community, where the schools are located.
Inaugurating the committee, Governor Shettima charged them to come out with a complete master plan on the criteria of enrolling the pupils, the type of uniforms and facilities needed in the schools. In addition to completion and commissioning of the schools, the Governor directed them to place more emphasis on girl-child education, assuring the members that funds needed for success of the project would be provided.
Inaugurating the committee, Kashim declared, “We are determined to continue the re-modeling of all existing schools and the building of 40 new boarding primary schools. Now, at the risk of being misunderstood, we have located half of these schools within the metropolitan areas of Maiduguri and Jere. This is because the pupils that are targeted for these schools are the 50,000 orphans from almost all the 27 Local Government Areas that are now living within the capital. In fact, the majority of these orphans have lost their parents to Boko Haram’s killings in the Local Government Areas located outside the capital…I, Governor Kashim Shettima, am the father and mother of all the 50,000 orphans until May 29, 2019, in-sha Allah. Since they are my children, I prefer them to be located not far from where I live in order for me to cater for them.”
Pardon me or let me borrow a leaf of my old time American peripatetic lecturer’s popular saying: “let me sound a carpet (warning)” anytime he is crossed or one stepped on his wrong side. Unknown to many, by taking care of or assuming the responsibility for the comfort or upkeep of the orphans bequeathed to his administration by the insurgency, Governor Shettima is, by implication or extension, not only carrying the burden of the nation but saving it from future disaster. If per chance or out of non-committal, the orphans of the insurgency are left uncatered for or properly rehabilitated and oriented, the nation would be the ultimate loser as it would be worst for it.
With regard the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement programme of the government, Shettima’s Administration has committed much resources, in addition to the assistance from the Federal Government, donor agencies, both within and out.
The questions are, however, centered on the continuity and sustained success of the scheme after the departure of Governor Shetima. It must not be allowed to fail. If Borno is at peace, Nigeria will be at
peace.
Victor Izekor is a Journalist and public affairs analyst and writes at vectorizekor@gmail.com
