Boko Haram Archives - Chronycles

THE TRUTH ABOUT NIGERIA’S IDPS

I’ve been here for 15 years plus. And the problem has made other IDPs arrive as recently as two, three weeks ago.

Postcards from Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria.

They fed me and other captives with good food, which was stolen from people’s shops.

Sometimes editors rejected my reports, saying they were “too risky” or “too political.” But I found ways.

My shop was destroyed, my goods were scattered, and all the money I had worked so hard to save was gone.

I remember leaving the akara still frying in the oil. I didn’t carry anything, not even my money.

I would have sold any property I owned, but Boko Haram destroyed the house I inherited from my father in our village.

Before the insurgency, I was a skilled farmer, providing for my family. Now, I’m unable to work, and my family struggles to make ends meet.

It was difficult at first, balancing on one leg and trying to sew, but I refused to give up.

It was during our exam period, and the disruption made it nearly impossible for many of us to concentrate or even find a safe space to study.