A journalist and staff of Voice Of Nigeria (VON) has recounted her
horrifying experience after surviving a close shave with death during
the Kaduna crises few weeks back which claimed more than 50 lives with
properties worth millions destroyed.
Temitope Mustapha, was travelling through Kaduna to Kano to cover the
event on Media Dialogue on Equity for the Girl Child Education before
being caught in the crisis.
She took to social media to share her story. Read the lengthy piece below;
Passing through Kaduna State on Sunday 21st of October 2018, to
connect to Kano State for a two day Media Dialogue on Equity for the
Girl Child Education , I never thought would end up bloody for me..
About 4:35pm ,Two times this gentleman who was in the same car with
me woke me up and said “Madam stay awake” ,I replied him, see i had
written stories previous nights before I embarked on this journey. Again
this man woke me up and said “madam pls stay awake”.
Then I opened my sleepy eyes very wide and clearly I saw Military
officers seated on their vehicles. Suddenly, a fellow passenger like me
said ” Madam we have been making calls to know the safest road” & I
said you mean this road is safe for us all? They all answered Yes.
Suddenly at Kaduna By- Pass,I saw a trailer blocking the road and
traffic was building up and the driver of the same car I boarded( public
transport of of course) beckoned on one of the youths holding a fibre
of an iron, of course he responded in Hausa language & another
passenger translated this to me that he wanted to find another route out
of By- Pass.
Suddenly, a number of the young men sighted me in the car & my
driver started pleading with them, telling them ” Da Allah ki ya kuri”
,I was the only female in the car and extremely unusual of me I wore
what you saw in the pictures above with an head tie ( turban)that I had
on me.
RACE OF MY LIFE
The young men best described as Miscreants were more than
fifteen,they started hitting the side of the car I was, Actually my head
was blank, I couldn’t say one word of prayer, I didn’t panic and I was
ready to run the race of my life.
Immediately my fellow passengers took to their heels from the front
door and the left door side , then I summoned courage opened the right
side door which was already confronted by men holding all manner of
irons and stones. My turban ( head tie) fell off , And I started running
towards an uncompleted building immediately I realised I could be
finished in the building, With heavy stones landing on my back and long
metallic objects hitting my body from people running after me ,I turned
and thought of crossing the Gutters on Kaduna by – Pass.
O Yes I fell down with the heaviness & marathon of stones landing
on my body then I watched myself being LYNCHED with all manners of iron
rods, sticks and i was being stonned at the same time.
Nobody dared stopped these youths from stonning me neither was I rescued from their hands.
I actually saw one of them videoing what they were doing to me & I
sincerely was running within me to catch up with breathe. Death is
Painful.
I suddenly didn’t not feel the hitting of the irons on my body again
& the stones were no longer making sounds to me. I was hearing
,Jesus is Lord inside my Head clearly as if with a mega phone, I was
seeing my mother’s,my Son & my daughter’s faces all at thesame time
& some how I kept hearing in my head that all they were doing was
not up to Labour Pains.
I crawled inside the Gutters ,of course I was already almost inside
the Gutters by by-Pass. I felt peace in my body & I found solace
inside the Gutters. I saw these youths gathered on the other side ,I
blurringly saw a crowd of men watching me , And I saw clearly one of
them carrying a stone with his two hands right over me, I raised up one
hand pleading to him & making gestures appealing. That was the last I
saw.
HEAVY SLEEP OVER POWERED ME
Heavy & Deep Sleep came over me inside the Gutters,the thing
overpowered me & I watched my hand threw away, from this moment I
didn’t know what happened again ,I cannot tell what,where & anything
about me again. I don’t know what switched me off. I was completely
switched off.
Till I woke up at AMRULLAH Hospital (also along Kaduna by-Pass )on a
stretcher , I started talking telling them I am a Journalist with Voice
of Nigeria and I was only passing by Kaduna State to attend a Media
Dialogue in Kano State. I attempted standing from the stretcher my body
didn’t respond. I was asked for phone numbers , Heaven helped me to
remember my younger sister’s number & the father of my children’s
number.
AMRULLAH Hospital …
Totally to my rescue, about six drips including flagyl & All manners
were set into my system. I was revived, Head suturing were done, the
young Muslim doctor was crying while suturing my head, hospital
attendants were cleaning stretcher stained with my blood. Everybody was
put on guard. The Miscreants traced me to the hospital & demanded
that the lady brought in should be released by the hospital to be
killed. This Muslim hospital saved me,hidded me away from them & I
realised I was kept in a ward locked with a nurse who was given
instructions not to open the ward to anyone she possibly didnt know the
voice. Only the Hospital Manager, the doctor on duty & two nurses
were given access to where I was.
2nd Day
I asked the only face I saw when I woke up from the “deep sleep”, I
said Pls who brought me. He looked at me with tears filled in his eyes
& said A JTF Member brought you life-less. He said “we rejected you
because you were not breathing and demanded he should not drop your body
with us”
The AMRULLAH Hospital Manager said, when we refuse to take you the
JTF Man dropped you on our stretcher & said you could come back that
we should try.
AMRULLAH Hospital treated me & stabilised me. Then A thousand
plus calls came on the Hospital Managers’ Phone,they said My Family
Members were dead alive & Colleagues had sleepless night.
MANAGEMENT OF VOICE OF NIGERIA STOOD FOR ME
In the Midst of it all, Mr Ahaziah Suleiman My Exe.Dir.of News, Mr
Ben Shemang,Hajia Sani,Hajia Hauwa even the DG I heard all sets contacts
in motion for my proper care.
VON KADUNA STATE CORRESPONDENT SUDDENLY BECAME A MOTHER
Her name is Hajia Asmau, she was the family I saw,she was the
colleague on ground, she wept uncontrollably & was still the one
consoling herself ,I watched Asmau wiped tears several times. Above all
this lady risked her life to identify with me in the hospital &
practically carried a wheeled chair colleague to her house to ensure my
safety.
Baba we all call him,Hajia Asmau’s Husband was there to carry me from
the vehicle to hospital stretcher , He was there all through right
beside his wife fixing my neck most times carrying me on wheel chair.
Hajia Asmau’s children all cried uncontrollably and kept asking their
Mother,Mummy what did she do to them”. Her family owned me straight up.
AGAIN MY BOSSES & COLLEAGUES TRIED
Aisha John Mark, Gloria Essien & Omolayo Alabi all pinned Prof.
Dr Ogrimma down, owner of SKILLS HOSPITAL, He was there for VON, Of
course curfew did not allow X-ray operator to be at work. But Dr Ogrimma
tried for me. He ensured the fractured hand was well tied & he gave
instructions that further saved me.
UNICEF TEAM & KADUNA STATE GOVT ALSO CARED
I Sincerely hail Mr Geoffrey Njoku, UNICEF Head Communication
Officer, who i learnt contacted his colleagues in Kaduna State &
informed them of my attack the same night I was revived at AMRULLAH
Hospital. Of course UNICEF contacted Kaduna State government. Lo &
Behold ! Commissioner For Health Kaduna State visited the following
afternoon of the attack , He later sent an ambulance who took me to
government hospital on ” KD State government’s demand” though no bed
space & everywhere was already filled with victims.
44 MILITARY HOSPITAL & MY FRACTURED HAND.
My bosses didn’t sleep nor take a Nap over my situation in Kaduna.
The third day of the incidence my Ogas contacted Gen.Burutai’s Men to
save the situation as there was still curfew & I almost couldn’t
walk. A very calm Army Boss reported at Hajia Asmau’s residence with his
men ,the third day and carried me to 44 MILITARY HOSPITAL to attend to
my dangling fractured & dislocated hand. The army medical doctors
insisted on thorough xray including that of my head. At the end the Army
left me better.
VON DELIVERED ME WHOLE TO MY FAMILY
Spending three days in Kaduna State at the heat of the crises wasn’t
easy at all for my family.(Though Hajia Asmau’s presence created relief
for my mother) VON sent an official car with the office nurse and armed
men escorted my scattered body with my breathe intact out of Kaduna town
. I was exchanged into VON official car @Kaduna Toll gate.
I do have a lot to say about Kaduna State October 2018 crises. While
recuperating & being on bed rest I think when my Nurse ( My mum’s
eyes ) are few times away from me) I think about being carried from the
Gutters by an Unknown Possibly Muslim JTF Member, I think about AMRULLAH
Hospital ( a complete Muslim hospital who God used to stabilised me
after coming out of deep sleep & yet not delivering me into the
hands of the Hot Headed Miscreants, I think about the safety of Nigerian
road users TRAVELLERS in the midst of CRISES across Nigeria???
So many thoughts feeling my sutured head but I sure must put all these thoughts down…
That I am Alive alone for now ,I am grateful to God Almighty.
Journalist Who Was Mobbed During Kaduna Crisis, Shares Survival Story. Photos
About Young Love
Israeladuramigba(Israel Adefila) is a student of the St. Anthony Secondary School. He is best known for his blog. He reside in Ilorin and He is single.
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