Worsening Insecurity…
Insecurity has cast a shadow on virtually every part of Nigeria with the North East and North West regions worst hit. Travelling by road has become a nightmare as the highways have been taken over by kidnappers and armed robbers. Safety is not even guaranteed in homes. Work places have become unsafe. Even natural spaces like farms in the hinterlands have become target areas for kidnapping or violent killings.
‘A Page Each Day’ today shares the story of Wumuna who was kidnapped right in front of her home. Kindly drop a comment to let me know if you enjoyed the story. Cheers!
The Experience…
The town was a peaceful one. The natural environment made up of rivers and streams emitted serenity, presenting a very welcoming aura that attracted people of all statuses. Life there was simple. Everyone minded their business. It was common to see neighbours greet you from their houses, but everybody was busy with their life. Some were doctors. Others were bankers or lecturers working in the two higher institutions in the next town. Students from the institutions whose parents lived far away rented self-contain apartments and shared rooms. Corps members also loved that part of town for its serenity. They loved the regular power supply in the area. Once in a while, when there was a power outage, the male students would gather in front of their houses and discuss football. They were about the only people who were seen outside just sitting or standing and chatting. There were no crime reports. The nights wore on peacefully and the days were used to pursue daily endeavours. This was the normal life in the town.
Then it happened!
It is said that the only constant in life is change. Things changed. It started with one household. Everybody said they lived a flashy lifestyle and must have attracted the kidnappers. Then it happened again, and again, and again. Then came her turn. She lived all alone, a young medical doctor. She was posted to the town five months ago. Given her fastidious nature, she was very particular about where to get an apartment. The agent took her from one apartment after another but none seemed to tickle her fancy, until she saw this one. It was a new apartment and the last house on the street with a tall fence. Beautiful umbrella trees surrounded the house giving it a warm and cool sensation. She loved it already and gave a nod to the agent.
Wumuna was a busy lady. She focused on her job which was actually demanding and found time to rest only after work. For balance, she hired Wisdom as recommended by the agent to help her keep the house clean. This turned out to be her undoing. Wisdom, being a cheerful and diligent young man soon wove his way into Wumuna’s heart. She let down her guard and related with him like a brother. She went to a point of discussing her family background with him, what she later came to regret. Given the nature of her job and the environment in the town which matched her kind of upbringing, she hardly mingled. She communicated with colleagues at her work place but once she entered her car at close of work, she wound up her tinted glasses and shut the world out. Who would have thought she was known to the point of being trailed?
Well, it happened. Just as she arrived her gate that evening, three persons came out from under the umbrella trees and brandished weapons at her. Two held guns and the other had a machete. She trembled with fear as the first with a gun tried to open the passenger door. It was already dusk so even if the neighbours were outside, they would faintly understand what was going on. They ordered her to open the door and with their weapons pointed at her ordered her to the back seat, while one of them took over the driver’s seat. She was immediately blindfolded. Everything happened so fast that she could not even scream out of shock. The car drove for about an hour with both the gun and machete still pointed at her with a threat to make a sound and consider herself dead.
The car suddenly stopped and she was pushed out of her car into another car that drove off immediately. Wumuna passed out. Her senses could not take it anymore. She had never experienced something close to this. By the time she regained consciousness, she could not decipher where she was. All around her was pitch darkness. Obviously, her blindfolds had been removed. There were no houses in sight. She felt she was in the middle of nowhere. She could sense four men around her. One more had joined when they moved from her car into theirs. Wumuna couldn’t figure out the distance they had travelled after they moved her from her car but she felt they must have travelled for more than two hours. Her senses returned and she screamed in fear. One of the men threw a big slap across her face and told her to shut up. “How was it possible to have travelled this far without the police noticing that something was off?” she thought to herself. For the remaining night, sleep eluded her. She was hungry and also in pain both psychologically and physically.
At sunrise, she studied her environment and saw two other victims, a man and a woman tied both hands and feet. They must have been there for more than one week. A middle aged paunchy fellow who was obviously the gang leader turned to her and said, “If your papa no bring the money wey we want, na so you go remain here,” he said pointing at the other two. “And if I wait tire, I go kill you, and dem no go even see your dead body.” His words were cold and his eyes looked fierce, sending chills down Wumuna’s spine. He placed a call on his phone and she heard her father’s voice from the other end of the phone. She cried out “daddy, they said they‘ll kill me.” The leader ordered her to shut up as he threw another slap across her face. He went on to negotiate with her father. Her father begged them not to hurt her and tried to negotiate the amount requested. “If I no hear from you tomorrow, I go waste her. Remember, no call police,” and with that, he ended the call. Wumuna trembled in fear. One of the men, a mid-sized fellow offered her dry pieces of bread. The day wore on as they continued negotiating for all the families of the victims. A whole day went by.
The sun was like a giant red wheel, radiating its scorching light and emitting heat on the earth. It blazed really hot without any restraint and one could think that the ozone layer had completely depleted. Even the natural tree plantations in the environment were not enough to stop the sun as it wriggled its way through the open branches in between the trees. Wumuna was exhausted but she looked hopeful. Her father was to pay her ransom that day and she prayed earnestly that all would go well and she would regain her freedom. Her blindfold was replaced as they marched her through a bush path under the scorching sun. “Wisdom tok say your papa get money plenty. Make im no waste our time if not, we go waste you.” That is when it dawned on her. It was Wisdom! Long story short, she was returned to her father and taken home. Wumuna said it was a harrowing experience for her and she still frets when she recalls the traumatic experience.
Wumuna’s story is one out of many experiences of insecurity in Nigeria. Safety in Nigeria has become such a luxury that when people go out of their homes and return safe, it is something to celebrate. Some don’t even have to leave the safety of their homes to become victims of insecurity. While we still look up to the government to improve on security, Wumuna’s story presents a cue that she unknowingly harboured a member of a kidnapping syndicate. What things do you do that endanger you and your loved ones?
