A grieving mother and a governor’s wife

Mama Esther and wife of the Borno State Governor, Nana Shettim

 Mama Esther’s daughter is one of the abducted schoolgirls of Borno State. She held back nothing when she met the wife of the Borno State Governor, Mrs. Nana Shettima, writes KAYODE IDOWU

A mother’s pain, according to a maxim, is not a respecter of persons or position. This came into a full glare during a recent visit of the wife of the Borno State Governor, Nana Shettima, to the parents of the 276 schoolgirls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok last Monday.

During the encounter with Shettima, one of the mothers of the abducted girls, who identified herself as Mama Esther, poured out her grief and expressed disappointment at the way the state government has so far handled the matter.

She said, “The time we were expecting you to come, you did not come. We parents are not pleased at all. We believe that if the soldiers were sent at the time the incident occurred, the abductors would have been caught and our daughters released to us. Nothing has happened since then, today makes it the third week. Today you just came here. You are a mother like us and know labour pain. You know the pain of raising a child. You did not come to help us when we needed help the most.”

Mama Esther went on to thank the governor’s wife for coming to visit, but noted that the girls’ mothers were not happy with the current situation, because they, the parents, had hoped that Shettima would bring their daughters back to them.

Her first daughter, who she said is barely 16 years old, was one of the girls abducted.

“This is a girl that does not know her left from her right; she does not know what is good for her. But now that this has happened, we do not have any choice. Whatever you think is good is okay with us. Please, I am begging you to use your good office and bring back our girls. Then, we will be happy once more. That is when we will thank you and the governor,” she said.

In response, Shettima apologised to the grief-stricken parents for not coming earlier. She said she was also having sleepless nights because of the abducted girls, and that security issues in the state had not allowed the government to give the people the dividends of democracy.

 “We can even sacrifice this office for peace to reign in the state. Whether as a Muslim or Christian, we believe that what has happened is destiny. Nobody can change what God has written down and you people did not elect us into office to cheat you,” she told her audience.

She added, “Wallahi, my delay in coming to see you was never planned. I am not afraid to tell you the truth for I only fear God that created me. I must tell you that I feel very disturbed seeing you standing in front of me without your children. There is a security procedure that must be followed, that was what delayed my coming.

“My husband has been in constant contact with your district head. I have been attempting to come every day without success because I was not given security clearance. If we come without security clearance, our convoy may be shot at. I am a mother and know how it feels; no one will want his or her domestic animal missing, let alone his or her daughter.”

She also used the opportunity to explain her reasons for not going to Abuja to see the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

She said, “No woman in the world can withstand the thing that is happening to you. I had to sacrifice going to Abuja to be with you. On Friday, I was asked to come but could not go. My going to Abuja should not be a priority when we are all mourning and I believe I am needed more by my people and I had to send a commissioner to represent me. The Commissioners for Women Affairs and Education and the principal of the school are still in Abuja and we are always in touch.

“I am not a sycophant and fear only God. There was an instance when my son got missing and I was so disturbed but there was this peace in me that we were going to find him. You feel helpless when your child is missing; I must tell you that I have not had proper sleep since these children were abducted. It is a collective pain, if they asked us not to go to school, how would this not affect our life? One day truth shall prevail. We are all strongly praying and we believe in God. We are at a loss, but we know God is with us. Please continue praying, we know our prayers will not go unanswered.”

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