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PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 KIDNAPPING: Troubling news about Leah Sharibu — Rev. Para Mallam By Sam Eyoboka REVEREND Gideon Para-Mallam has been in the vanguard of the campaign for the release of captives of Boko Haram, especially teenager, Leah Sharibu, who has spent three years in Boko Haram enclave. Leah was abducted on February ‘19, 2018 alongside about 110 of her colleagues at Government Girls Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State. Whereas her colleagues were released days later, she has remained with her Boko Haram captors since then. Where are you from, are you a pastor in charge of a Dapchi church? I live in Jos. I am not a pastor in Dapchi and I do not live in Dapchi, Yobe State. However, I have carried a heavy burden in my heart concerning Leah Sharibu and her parents for the past three years. And this burden will continue until Leah is set free from captivity of Boko Haram. The journey, for me, into Dapchi, Yobe, has been more of a spiritual one since March 21, 2018, when Leah Sharibu and the other girls were kidnapped from Dapchi, I prayed for all the girls even though at that time we didn’t know who was a Christian or Muslim. Then three weeks later (March 21, 2018) the Dapchi girls were released but Leah Sharibu was held back on account of her refusal to convert to Islam. While watching the news later that evening of March 21, 2018, I watched many jubilating parents who had their daughters released to them. But one woman who was weeping looked dazed, sad, later slumped and passed out. This distraught woman was Rebecca Sharibu, Leah’s mother. I was moved with deep compassion and I heard God clearly nudging me to do something by working for the release of her daughter, Leah Sharibu. Later, I was able to link up directly with Leah’s father first, Nathan Sharibu, who later linked me up with Leah’s mother. From then on I have remained in touch with them till date. What about Leah’s parents: do they feel hopeful, discouraged three years after? Two days ago in the evening, I spoke with Leah’s parents. We do this every now and then. They remain unbowed, and full of faith that one day they will see Leah. Their spirits have not been broken. They are full of pain; the Nigerian government has never called to encourage or provide any updates since October 2018. Leah’s father, Nathan Sharibu, said “we remain hopeful that Leah will be free one day.” Rebecca Sharibu said: “Timings are in the hands of God and by His grace we will see Leah one day.” To their prayers, I say AMEN! What do they think about Leah’s decision to keep faith with God? Leah is right now a heroine of the Christian faith. Leah’s story is the b e s t typology of Christian persecution in Nigeria. Her decision to be faithful to God is both courageous a n d commendable. H e r •Sharibu uncompromising stand should inspire and serve as a clarion call to young people but particularly all Christians in Nigeria and abroad to reconsider their commitment to Christ. Has government said anything of late about Leah? I started advocating for the release of Leah since March 21, 2018, including an interview with the BBC in the UK in April 2018. Then a major advocacy work which led President Muhammadu Buhari to call and speak with Leah’s mother while she was staying briefly in our home in September 2018. It is sad, however, that the Nigerian government after this has not called to encourage or provide any updates to the parents as they received their last call from the Federal Government in October 2018. Neither has the Federal Government made any official statement about Leah to suggest the possibility of her release. This culture of silence has damning psychological torture for Leah’s parents and others who similarly have their loved ones in Boko Haram’s captivity. Our President and the relevant power structures in Nigeria need to act swiftly to free Leah and Para-Mallam others in captivity. For one wonders how could a government be so powerless and helpless? The global community needs to unite! This is not only about Leah Sharibu but our shared humanity. It’s unbelievable but today, February 19, 2021, young 17-yearold Leah Sharibu has spent 1,096 days in Boko Haram captivity. Let’s unite across borders and act to - Free Leah!!! What is the last news you have about Leah? Some aspects of the news about Leah I received in November are troubling but not something I would like to go into details here. There is no way to verify but it also calls for prayers and intentional concerted efforts both local and global to secure her release at the earliest time possible. The good news, however, is that Leah is still alive and this so far is the most encouraging news about Leah to date. Leah was last seen by her mother Rebecca at the end of January 2018 during visitation at Government Girl’s Secondary School, Dapchi. However, since February 19, 2018 when ISWAP – Islamic State in West Africa Province invaded the school and kidnapped 110 girls along with Leah Sharibu, she has never been seen by any of her parents. One month later on March 20, 2018, when 109 girls were freed, Leah was kept back when she refused to renounce her faith in Christ. So, the last set of people who saw Leah were her schoolmates. On September 2018, a video of Leah making an appeal for her release from captivity surfaced. That was the last we have ever heard directly from Leah. But on January, 2020, one of those who was kidnapped by ISWAP and later released brought direct word from one of the captives who met with Leah. Some of the contents of the message won’t be divulged at the moment. We will share this at the best time the Lord permits. Do you know where she is? It is difficult to know exactly where she is located now. The terrorists, from what we hear, do not keep their captives in one location but do move them from one location to another. So, its difficult to say exactly or with certainty where Leah might be now. Sometimes we hear they are in the Lake Chad region, other times, in Niger Republic or Chad. Its hard to be precise. Remember that by the end of October 2018, her captors declared that Leah and others, like Alice Ngaddah (the UNICEF AID Worker and mother of two, who was kidnapped on March 1, 2018), would be slaves for life. They were subsequently married off to some of their Commanders. Some media outlets spoke about her conversion to Islam. Is something proved? Or just speculation? Yes, this is true, the rumour had been on for sometime and an eye witness account confirmed this rumour to me privately. But I asked a simple question when interviewed by Open Doors International on this in February 2020: would this be a voluntary or forced conversion? Would forced conversion to Islam in captivity be considered a willing conversion? Do not forget that Leah was held back in the first place because she decided at the young age of 14 to remain true to her Christian conviction. What a heroine of the Christian faith that Leah is and represents. Let’s pray for her to remain solid in her faith in Christ even at this dark hour when the trial of her faith is being stretched to limits that even adults won’t easily cope. Leah, keep strong in Him!!! How old is Leah now? Leah was kidnapped at the young age of 14. She celebrated her 15th birthday in captivity on May 17, 2018. This innocent schoolgirl, whose girl-child education has been truncated, celebrated her 16th birthday in May 2019, then 17th birthday in May 2020. Why is the world standing by and watching on to see her left in unjust captivity? What is your message to Nigerians? I try to pray for Leah and others such as Alice Ngaddah, Grace Tuka, Lillian Daniel Gyang, Pastor Lawrence Zongo and two other women – all Christians and several unnamed captives. Yesterday, Tuesday February 16, 2021, as I prayed for Leah, God gave me this word of encouragement for Leah: ‘Do not be afraid O little . . . [Leah] for I myself will help you, declares the LORD.” Isaiah 41:13-14. This is a message of HOPE to all. I will encourage Nigerians to keep faith alive concerning Leah as they pray. Support Leah’s parents practically as you may be able to. Challenge your government to use its power and diplomatic channels to raise Leah’s issue with our President and the relevant structures of power in Nigeria to act to free Leah and others in captivity. For how could a government be so powerless and helpless? Remember before Leah, some of the Chibok girls are still unaccounted for? Sadly, another 27 school kids were kidnapped from Kagara in Niger State. For how long would the Nigerian government allow such acts of impunity to continue? It would appear to me that there are too many ungoverned spaces in Nigeria and our territorial integrity as a nation is by implication compromised. Pray now for Leah – Pastor Adeboye •Govt failed Sharibu family – Archbishop Martins THE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, has called for prayers for the release of Leah Sharibu from captivity. Adeboye called on all pastors of the RCCG as well as well-meaning people across the world to intensify prayers and efforts towards the release of Leah. The respected cleric, speaking on the third anniversary of the abduction of the teenager, charged every parent and people of goodwill to use whatever influence they have to ensure that Leah as well as other children in captivity are released. On his part, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, urged the Federal Government to secure the release of Leah. According to him, the failure of government to secure her release three years after abduction was regrettable in view of the enormous financial and material resources expended on the war against insurgency and all forms of insecurity in the country. The Director of Social Communications, Rev. Fr Anthony Godonu, quoted Martins as saying government owes the family of Leah and indeed all Nigerians the duty to not only secure her release and others in captivity but also to put an end to all forms •Adeboye of insecurity. “It is sad to note that three years have passed since Leah Sharibu, a Christian student of the Government Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, was abducted from her school along with other girls and has since been in captivity”, he said. “The Federal Government did promise, as a matter of priority, to ensure her release. Unfortunately, she and others are still languishing in captivity. “We have been told that several efforts have been made to ensure her release, but we are yet to see them materialize. “One can only imagine the severe physical, emotional, and psychological torture she and her parents have been going through all these years. “We are therefore appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to do all in his power as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to secure her release and other abducted students and reunite them with their families.” He urged the new Service Chiefs to take the fight against insurgents to a new level by boosting the morale of the officers and men of the armed forces while employing intelligence to locate and decimate Boko Haram and bandits terrorizing the country.
Raging Nigerian war: Fulani against the rest “ Sir, there are many nationalities in d cookedup country calld Nigeria; non likes to takeova d others land. ONLY d Fulani want to takeover other peoples land. So where is Fulaniland so that we too can go and live there? Thanx” - Regular SUNDAY VANGUARD reader, February 21, 2021 As someone who had lived and worked in all the four corners of Nigeria, as well as places in between, I had long been puzzled by one astonishing fact which is often ignored by everybody when discussing our current ethnic conflicts. I have travelled all over the country, visiting on the average twenty eight states a year during a ten-yearperiod. Still, the same fact keeps staring me in the face. Yet for one personal reason – to which I will get shortly – my mind refused to acknowledge this vital but inconvenient truth. And, the truth is there is no place in the whole of Nigeria one can call Fulani land. None. Go state by state, zone by zone, and you will discover specific parts of the Nigerian territory which are recognised as land belonging to particular ethnic groups – no matter how small in size and number. Before and while working on my book IBRAHIM B Email:biolasobowale@yahoo.com Phone Number: 07081372829 Twitter:@DrDeleSobowale Instagram:delesobowalefranklyspeaking Website: www.delesobowale.com BABANGINDA 1985-1992: LETTING A THOUSAND FLOWERS BLOOM, I had taken a keen interest in documenting ALL the ethnic groups in this country. It has taken me over 30 years to gather the list on page 373 of that book. From A-Z, starting with Abonema and ending in Zuru, 85 ethnic groups have so far been identified, including the Adara people of Kaduna State. Despite a few trips to various areas of the state, the Adara, whose presence was revealed to me recently by Obadaiah Mailafia, escaped my attention. I am sure there are more to come – otherwise we have been deceiving ourselves about the number of nationalities we have in Nigeria. About one thing however, nobody can fool me. All the other people known to me have a definite geographical location in this country they and others call their own. It is easy for most Nigerians to identify Yoruba, Ibo, Ijaw, Tiv, Kanuri, Berom, Efik, Igala and Ibibio etc lands – among the large ethnic groups. What most people, however, cannot know is how even some small nationalities have very strict historical geographical territories they call their own. Two examples will help to illustrate the point. From Keffi to Toto in The lack of an ancestral territory has forced the Fulani to spread all over the country in search of parcels of land to grab Nasarawa State, less than 60 kilometers apart, about three or four ethnic groups have occupied that territory from time immemorial. Indigenes of those places, including those who have never been there, still claim the places as their own. Till his death, our late Prince Tony Momoh, as well as others like him, claimed to be from Afemnai – despite the fact that he spent less than one percent of his time on earth in that place. He never claimed Lagos where he spent the vast majority of his time in this side of the grave. About 45 kilometers separate Auchi, the headquaters of Afemnai people from Oke and Sabon Gida Ora – where some of the Ishan people call home all their lives – even if they don’t know where they are. Remarkably, nobody disputes (or has disputed) the ownership of these places with their ancestral owners. Most conflicts, including violent ones, occur at the boundary of two groups. There is never any disagreement between Beroms and their ethnic neighbours about the core territory of each group. The single national exception to everything written above is the Fulani. To be candid, there is no Fulani land in Nigeria. The lack of an ancestral territory has forced the Fulani to spread all over the country in search of parcels of land to grab. It cannot be otherwise. Usman Dan Fodio, 1754-1817, started it all. And briefly, here was the history of how we started on the long journey which has brought us to the brink of an all-out-war today. Just remember what a great historian said. “History is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind” - Edward Gibbons, 1734- 1794, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, P 92. Two among the crimes of mankind got us on the way to where we are. The British came from the South holding the Bible and guns to conquer the nationalities below the Niger and Benue rivers. The Islamic Jihadists came from the Middle East with Quran and also guns to subjugate the inhabitants of the parts of the North now called Northern Nigeria. Englishmen never laid claim to any land in the geographical space which in 1914 became Nigeria. They left in 1960. The Islamic Jihadists, led by Dan Fodio, stayed, and after conquering the largest Northern ethnic group – the Hausa – forced them to help capture and subjugate several other nationalities. The only major exception were the Kanuri of Borno State. Under their traditional ruler, El-Kanemi, Kanuriland remains “the land of the unconquered” till today. No El-Kanemi will ever accept the Sultan of Sokoto as his superior. The Fulani, as Dan Fodio’s descendants were called, immediately established an apartheid social and political system under which people of every other ethnic group were second class citizens; Fulani were first class. The amalgamation of North SUNDAY VANGUARD, FEBRUARY 28, 2021,PAGE 11 and South in 1914 and the British scheme to hand over to the Fulani-led North was the final step towards covert legitimisation of Nigerian apartheid; which was only a little bit better than the South African version. Under Ahmadu Bello and Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the Fulani superiority complex was mooted. Power was shared fairly evenly with other ethnic groups. Other Northern leaders – Gowon, Mohammed, Babangida, Abacha, Abubakar and Yar’Adua – were enlightened benevolent dictators and they avoided rubbing salt on injury with even-handed distribution of power during their regimes. And, that explained why the resentment of Fulani domination of the North had not led to open confrontation until now. Buhari’s election as President changed everything. With the first 40 to 60 appointments he made, Buhari had demonstrated that his own was going to be a government of the Fulani, by the Fulani and mostly for the Fulani. Without realising it, his response to the genocides in Enugu State and Agatu in 2016 was a wake-up call to all other Nigerians who had ignored a growing problem. “Dan Fodio was a Fulani descendant of a Torodbe family that was wellestablished in Hausaland” -WIKIPEDIA This brings us to the question asked by our reader above – “where is Fulani land?” The obvious and honest answer to that question is this. “There is no Fulani land in the whole of Nigeria. After first of all establishing the Caliphate in Sokoto, and from there capturing several communities, they failed to hold any particular geographical area as their new homeland. Instead, they were contented to appoint Emirs and Serikis as rulers of the people and they demanded and received the right to graze their cattle anywhere. Until 1967, there was very little dispute about that. Even places which were not conquered by the Islamic Jihadists allowed them free grazing right down to the water front in the South. “Anyone who controls the army controls the nation” - Ahmadu Bello (IBRAHIM B BABANGIDA 1985-1992: LETTING A THOUSAND FLOWERS FLOW, Pg 22) Until 1966, the Fulani had undisputed hold on power. The first coup changed that. The second coup in 1967 which ended with Gowon, an Ngas from Lur, a small ethnic group from Plateau State, who was surrounded by officers from other small tribes, was the beginning of the end of Fulani political power hegemony. Ahmadu Bello, a descendant of Dan Fodio, had inadvertently shown young men from other nationalities how to reduce Fulani political power. Get armed. Alhaji Shehu Shagari, another Fulani, was tossed out by officers from minority tribes. They installed General Buhari, a Fulani; and again removed him 20 months after. Yar’Adua, another Fulani, was imposed by Obasanjo – not his kinsmen. Finally, Buhari would not have defeated Jonathan even in 2015 if the progressives of the South-West had not led a coalition of political adventurers to persuade Buhari to run one more time. For all concerned, the decision to field Buhari was a monumental blunder. It has led us to where we are now. But, remember this. Fulani now occupy every “forest” they can find because, unlike the rest of us, they have no land anywhere in Nigeria to call their own. To be continued… Joyfulhomes 2015@gmail.com God has not forgotten you Glory be to God. We started January, saw the end of January and now we are saying goodbye to February 2021. It could only be God that has kept us alive. All Praises be to the Lord. Brethren, the time of fasting and praying, isn’t a time to be downcast. It is not a time for one’s spirit to be low. It is not the time to begin to give room to doubt. When we say prayers, like “ Remember me O Lord”. Does it mean God has forgotten us? Usually, those types of prayer points come up when we are still expecting to “ see God in action”. Brethren, God is always active. He never stops attending to us. No wonder the Psalmist said in Psalm 121 vs. 4 (KJV) “ Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”. Many of us spend more time, asking “ God why me?” instead of thanking the LORD for those things he has been doing that are not visible to us Ḟor instance a couple looking forward to conception is likely to sigh and be unhappy when the woman sees her period. They have forgotten that there are women whose periods aren’t only irregular but had ceased even when they are not close to the age of menopause. Such a woman fails to see that the manifestation of her monthly period is a sign that her miracle is on the way. Perhaps you are familiar with the story of Noah and how God kept him and his family away from the flood. Genesis 8 vs. 1: “ And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged”. Do you think that God forgot Noah? I don’t think so. Remember it was God that told him to build the ark and also gave directives as to who and what should be in the ark. Another Bible, Isaiah 49 vs. 14-16 states: “ But Zion said, “ The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten What you see in the spiritual realm is what you will get in the physical me. Can a woman forget her nursing child that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me”. Woman, God has not forgotten you and will never forget you. The walls of your womb he sees continually and he knows that your children must occupy that womb. At times what we perceive as a delay is not a delay. God is actually working on the spiritual that determines the physical. I’ll share with you the unusual story of childbearing delay in the life of a man. He got married to his woman, but they had no children so the woman left him. It was also the same situation with the second woman he married. She also left him after all attempts to have children failed. Then he took a third wife and she dragged him to a particular church. There they began to pray. With intensive prayers, it was revealed that his mother was the reason he never had children. Why? She feared that once he began to raise children, he would no longer care for her. God showed the couple mercy and they were blessed with a set of twins, a boy and a girl. How would any one know that the women didn’t really have infertility issues and that their inability to have children was a spiritual challenge imposed on the man by his mother? This was an unusual case but many cases are like this. Society focuses on the woman but the challenge may actually be a spiritual burden on the man. Brethren, stop thinking that God has forgotten you. I also know of the case of a lady who had miscarriages about 10 times. This is more painful. She got pregnant, carried the baby in her womb but never carried any in her arms. Her agony can only be imagined. When no one expected, God in his mercy showed up for her and blessed her with a baby boy. The solution to challenge came through prayers not science. Series of examples abound. There was also the case of a couple born into Christian homes but in their desperation to have children, went to an herbalist. When the herbalist did all he could and no child was conceived and he became sympathetic to them because they had spent so much. He said to them, “ Go and meet Hallelujah people”. In other words, they were asked to go to a church of God. They did and today, after over two decades of waiting they are parents of children. A couple that was called barren asked the Lord to stop giving them children. They now have enough. The stories I have shared with you should lift up your faith that there is no situation that God cannot change. Brethren, what is that challenge that has denied you a fulfilled life. Take it to God in prayer. Even as we ask, we must focus on the realization of our request. As you pray, begin to see yourself conceive, deliver and carry your baby or babies. Stop seeing yourself as a barren woman. What you see in the spiritual realm is what you will get in the physical. Last week, there was a report of a couple that God blessed with a set of sextuplets, four boys and two girls. What was remarkable about this couple was the fact that they had waited for 21 years before God gave them a set of twins, a boy and a girl in 2015. The couple, Doris and Seiyefa Wilson was again blessed with sextuplets after six years. They probably thought they were in another phase of delay after they had the twins. The husband, Seiyefa spoke of pressure from his relations to marry another wife but he resisted them. He said on a particular day, he saw a woman begging with triplets, though he hadn’t enough money on him, he asked that money be transferred to him and he gave the woman 25,000. According to him, the woman was pleasantly surprised. She prayed for him that God would give him, double what he gave her and behold, God blessed him with a set of sextuplets. Brethren, we’ll take some lessons from the story of the Wilson couple. First, is that God empowered the husband to resist pressure for relations. If you are in a similar situation, God will help you to resist pressure from relations in Jesus name. Secondly, we learn that delay is not denial. Third lesson is that showing mercy to others provokes God to show us mercy. Didn’t the scripture say in Matthew 5 vs. 7 “ Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”. Trust God brethren, he has not forgotten you. Your miracle is on the way in Jesus name.
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