رجال الغابة
MEN OF THE FOREST.
The cloud of dust is usually our first reporter that a car is passing which rarely happens around our school. Our school, Lafia Government College is situated in the middle of a wide expanse of land, surrounded by trees and scarce grass but with a lot of sand that could build an entire community. Many of us pupils call it the evil forest because at night, we hear strange hideous sounds that made us cringe with fear. But our greatest nightmare happened during midday.
The dust rose as usual and it was however prolonged making us choke and clear our throat as the remnants of dust entered our mouth. Outside, we heard multiple sound of motorcycles and a few other cars. We were not alarmed at first but curious to see who they were that were at our threshold. We didn't have to walk further when these men rushed in with AK 47 slung to their shoulders. Few gun report into the air turned our school to a grave. Those who saw was coming ran but were brought down immediately by bullets.
Looking at us, their leader pointed at the fallen bodies behind us:
'That is what happens to those who run away'.
They spoke in rapid arabic and few sentences in Hausa. Barking orders and hitting those lagging behind with their gun butt. Our teachers were beaten to stupor. Only our principal was untouched because she was elderly. The men were dressed in military fatigue and hooded. Only their eyes were visible. We were herded into their waiting van a travelling deep into the forest. We travelled the whole of the afternoon into the early evenings. The men all the while chanted and recited verses of the Quran. The van totalled about ten. The one ahead of us had a black flag with Quranic inscription written on it. Beside it was a mounted machine gun with unimaginable number of bullets.
When we eventually stopped at a more denser forest where canopies were strewn about us. We were made to sit on the bare floor. A good number of us had cried our hearts out imagining the fate that awaited us. The fear that we could be killed and we will never see our parents were uppermost in our terrified hearts. The commander introduced himself in arabic while someone interpreted in Hausa. He called Mammud Hammad, the valiant one. He was a tall black man. He wore no hood or perhaps, he had already removed it. He congratulated us for allowing ourselves to be the chosen few meant to do the bidding of Allah. The others who ran and tasted their bullets, he said were cowards unfit to be the slaves of Allah. For more than an hour he spoke glowingly of an egalitarian society which the Nigerian government had denied them- us. They were mandated by Allah to lead a group of true muslims unspoiled with western ideas which he said were rotten seed planted into our land.
'We will not rest until we have covered the whole of the land with the true and peaceful religion of Islam. No government can stop us. No government can kill us. Even if we die, thousands and more are ready to take our place'. With that, he ended his speech while a loud chant of 'Alahu Akbar' rend the air.
We were later stripped of our school uniforms and made to wear flowing robes and also hijab for the girls. The most beautiful of the girls belong to the leader while the other men picked the ones that caught their fancy. Each chosen girl was led into the tent. The ones who refused were beaten until they succumbed. The noise that come from the tent didn't lighten our fears. The girls screamed for help, asking God and their parents to come to their rescue. No one did until their voices became whimpers sprinkled with sobs. They were later brought out, broken and emotionally destroyed. The men renamed each girl he took and announced that she was his wife from then on. We boys were led away to be reborn as faithful terrorists.
THE END
Thank you as always for your continued support. Without you, this would have been a boring, lonesome journey. Thank you for reading to the end. Till next time, I am Yours Truly,
Julius Topohozin
