One cool morning many Septembers ago, Goni set out on a long journey to the urban capital of Borno with a few personal items, three companions, and a healthy herd of goats. He was going to sell the livestock at the Maiduguri Cattle Market, use the proceeds to buy fabrics, and then head back home […]
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Boko Haram wanted Adam Lawan dead. As a politician and vigilante, he represented everything they detested: allegiance to democratic rule and brazen defiance of the group’s armed insurgency. So they went after him each time they raided Uta, a village in Bama, northeastern Nigeria. But Adam was lucky to escape the attempts on his life. […]
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If it were not for the insurgency, Aja Kaye would likely have all his toes intact. His brother, Ali Mallam, would be alive. His two wives and 16 children would be with him, and not the terrorists in an area beyond his reach. But the insurgency happened — is still happening — and Aja’s little […]
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When Hajja Hawwa Saleh arrived in Maiduguri in late 2015 as a displaced woman, there wasn’t enough food for her and her infant daughter. So she would go to the market and gather leftover grains from the dirt, wash them, and cook. She also packed the discarded parts of slaughtered livestock, selling some and eating […]
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Yagana Mamanaye’s life was complete, and then it wasn’t. She had everything she wanted. A home that embraced her. A husband who loved her. Children who brought her a garden of joy. A stable source of income. But, one by one, all those pleasures got sucked out and she was left with nothing. First, it […]
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Not long before the world went on lockdown in early 2020, Hajja Gana Muhammad, 60, received a letter that brought a glint of hope amid the gloominess of the time. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a humanitarian organisation, wrote to let her know they had seen her son at a detention facility. […]
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Hauwa Bulama has never met her father. If not for his national identity card, she would not even know what he looked like. Each time she asks her mother about him, she gets the same response: “Don’t worry, he will come back. We are still waiting for his return.” Aisa Modu, 25, was two months […]
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His real name is Lawan Muhammad but everyone calls him L7. This is because, in 2005, when he was still very young, Motorola released a phone series with that model name, famous for its slim build, black shiny casing, and high storage capacity. Also, because he is the seventh child. When the Muhammads became displaced […]
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“I would be very happy. I would be happier than you could ever imagine. I would hit my legs against a tree, and the tree would break apart.” Aisha Umar, 40, laughs heartily as she makes a snapping motion with her hands to indicate the unlucky tree’s rupturing. She is describing what would happen the […]
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All that Tujjani could recall about his past were the names of his three siblings: Babagana, Ali, and Mohammed. Though he often cries for his mother, he does not know her name. When he is not sleeping or eating some meal given to him by people moved by his condition, he would spend hours sobbing […]
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Bukar Mandara, 50, loved eating tuwon dawa and draw soup. He loved to wear white and green kaftans. Above all, he loved his wife. It’s why, even though he’s been gone without a trace for over seven years, Halimah Abba has refused to promise herself to another man. The couple’s predicament started with the spread […]
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After about five years in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria, Ummi Ali thought she could save the life of her only surviving younger brother in a daring escape she had carefully planned. Unfortunately, she later watched him strapped with a suicide vest by their captors, an incident that dampened […]
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