ACN Nigeria Project Visit – Day 8
Day 2 in Zaria would take us to the villages the children at St John’s had been forced to leave behind. The journey out into the bush in two cars was of no particular note until we turned off the main road onto a dirt track where with armed security escort we were led by a man on a motorbike into Tama I and Tama II. As we arrived, it turned out our motorcyclist leading the convoy was the parish priest. He explained that in light of the delicate security situation he had to avoid wearing his clerical outfit.
As we stepped out of the vehicle, we were told it would be unwise for us to stay long. This we were told on multiple occasions as we visited villages and a third one not far away called Tsaunin Mayo. What was notable in all three was that they were largely uninhabited as a result of the mass evacuation. Those staying behind were farmers effectively keep watch over their land. As we passed a hospital building, Fr Mike, Bishop Habila’s vicar general, explained that he had helped set up this structure and now they had had to abandon it.
In Tsaumin Mayo, the few villagers present shrank back, and it seemed to me that they were unsure if it was safe to greet us. We soon noticed there were more men than women. Certainly the men were more willing to speak. One called Solomon Ako was willing to be interviewed by me. A farmer of maze, rice and beans, Solomon, 33, described how he and about a dozen others from the village were kidnapped for three months two years ago. He said he had no idea who his kidnappers were but though they had abducted him primarily for ransom, their religious motivation was also not in doubt. He said: “They immediately asked us to convert to Islam and when we refused they started beating us. They flogged us with whips. Our legs were put in chains, shackles placed round our ankles.” He explained that they were held in water up to their necks. I asked him how they survived. He said: “Every night when our kidnappers were asleep, we prayed. That was what kept us strong.”
His story and the matter of fact way in which he told it were truly remarkable. But nothing surpassed what he said next: “If the people who did this were to ask us for forgiveness, we would forgive them.” That he should say this after experiencing so much wanton cruelty at the hands of such people was something to which I had no response. I remember just looking blankly at him, speechless.