Mrs. Rabecca Sharibu, mother of the only Dapchi schoolgirl still in Boko Haram captivity, said she was reunited with her beloved daughter, Leah, in a dream four months after. She said her daughter Leah appeared to her at midnight, in a red dress and hugged her with a broad smile. “I finally got my freedom Mama,” she had said.
Mrs. Sharibu said the excitement was cut short when she suddenly woke up to realise it was all a dream.
Answering a question on whether they had a memorable discussion, the mother said “Yes, we hugged each other very tight in such a way that no force could separate us before narrating her ordeals to me. “’Mama, I really suffered in [Boko Haram’s] hands. We sleep on leaves, and barely take baths, but they fed me well’,” she said.
“Those minutes of excitement nearly took away all my sorrow. Sadly, it was a dream. I cried when I opened my eyes and realised it. I tried going back to sleep for more, but I couldn’t. I cried throughout that night and prayed that God should make it reality”.
On whether she would allow Leah to continue in the school, Mrs. Sharibu said she would rather her daughter stay out of school, than return to GGSTC Dapchi. “I’ve already transferred her brother to a school in Jos. She is the only one I am waiting for now,” she said.
Staying alone in a mud house, Mrs. Sharibu is desperately waiting for her daughter, Leah, to return. The mother of two, Leah and a boy, decried that no official from the state or federal governments, or even the school principal, has knocked on her door to sympathize. She said that government has kept promising to Nigerians that her daughter would be safely rescued, but without keeping the family abreast.
“It’s very sad and frustrating, each time we hear something from the media about our daughter. Recently, government said that negotiation for my daughter’s release is complicated. As parents, we should be informed of any development before going to press. The government’s way of relaying the information is making me angrier, and more frightened by the day,” she said, frowning.
“It’s only by the help of the media that the government is intensifying efforts for [Leah’s] rescue. If not, we don’t know what would’ve happened,” she said. The visibly distraught mother also said the only way the family can reach out to the government is through interviews. “There is no other way to speak to them, so we air our grievances, and the government always responds in defense.”
Leah’s mother said since the release of the abducted schoolgirls, only one of them, Aisha, has visited. “She told me that many of them wanted to come visit, but they don’t want to see me cry. Her best friend, Liana, usually calls me on the phone to ask about Leah, but has not come to visit me,” she lamented.
On February 19, 2018 Boko Haram insurgents stormed Government Girls Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, from where they abducted 111 schoolgirls. All but six of the girls were returned to the school on March 21, 2018. Five were reported to have died in captivity, while Leah Sharibu is still being held.
GGSTC Dapchi re-opened on April 30, but of most students and pupils have refused to return. A source in the school told our reporter that about 300 students have returned, out of a total number of 989. Over 200 students are writing their final year exams, while the rest will continue studying.
Yobe State Commissioner of Education, Mr Mohammed Lamin, said government has done everything possible to make the school safe for the students, to continue their education. He said that security operatives were deployed to provide 24-hour security. “We ask that parents have confidence in us, and the system we have put in place,” he said.
Daily Trust