INIKPI

Ayisha. The end.

The recovered Bama Girls numbered about one hundred and fifty out of the over two hundred abducted. They were immediately rushed to the Maiduguri General Hospital where doctors, nurses and psychologists fell over themselves to attend to them. Their parents, who had received the news as soon as it happened, thronged in their number, to the hospital. Fear was written all over their faces as none of them was willing to be told his or her daughter or ward did not make it back alive. Already, about ten of the parents had died of high blood pressure from the shock they received from the incident.

After proper, painstaking examination of each of the girls, it was discovered fifty of them were pregnant whipping up debates in the social media especially and in newspapers, radio and television commentaries, generally, on whether it was morally right or wrong to abort the babies.

Those parents, who could not find their daughters after moving from ward to ward, wept openly throwing themselves on the bare ground. Their frantic efforts to ask the survivors the fate that befell their daughters were politely turned down by the medical personnel on grounds that the girls needed enough bed rest before they could be subjected to such.

Those fortunate to locate theirs alive held them in such tight embraces with tears of joy rolling down their faces that it took the concerted efforts of the medical personnel to disengage them on grounds the girls needed to be attended to immediately.

International news organizations sent several correspondents to Maiduguri to get exclusive stories of the event. Their local counterparts were not left out of the rush to report the event. The ruling party wasted no time in giving the credit to the “pragmatic, focused and people-minded government of President Ciroma.”

The conveners of the Bring Back Bama Girls boarded flights from Abuja, Lagos and every other areas their members could be found and, as soon as these planes landed in Maiduguri, buses were hired to convey them to the General Hospital. Interviews were granted to different media organizations by members of the group where praises were given to God and to the government of President Ciroma. It was obvious some of them were looking for political appointments by the way they presented their messages.

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Ayisha remained in her trance-like state for a long time. It took efforts before members of the Allied Forces could get her into one of the buses the former captives were crammed into to safety. Two men half carried and half dragged her into the bus. She just stared blankly into space ahead of her.

On getting to the General Hospital, she was heavily sedated and put to sleep. The doctors reasoned she was in shock and took that option. She remained like this for three days only feeding via the drip fixed on her through a syringe inserted into her right hand.

Alhaji Idris' last wife and children were also admitted at the hospital.

It was on the third day that Ayisha was taken off the drip permanently. She regained her composure a bit and spoke only in whispers but it was clear she was going to be alright with time.

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As soon as the death of Shekau was announced, members of the Boko Haram sect began to surrender in droves. To make the process faster, President Ciroma announced an amnesty programme for them that included a skills acquisition programme, among other packages. Arms and ammunition were surrendered by the repentant sect members. The sheer number of the weapons and their quality left the world shocked when it was reported by the media.

To prevent a re-occurrence of the incident, governors in the Northern states placed a ban on religious sermons that incited people to violence of any sort. Those who were caught violating the law were severely punished. Pragmatic steps were also taken to check the issue of almajiri in the Northern Region as a whole.

A month after the dramatic rescue of Ayisha along with the Bama Girls, the United Nations Organization held a meeting in Geneva with the rescued girls the major issue on the agenda. At the end, it was decided a special fund to be donated by the government of the individual countries be set aside for the education of the girls in the United States of America and some other Western countries. Universities in several countries including China and Russia also offered each of them full scholarship if they were willing to come to their countries.

A monument was erected in honour of those girls that did not survive the ordeal in Government Girls Secondary School, Bama in an emotional and solemn ceremony attended by President Ciroma and dignitaries from all over the world. The surviving girls and their parents were also in attendance.

On the day the presentation of the scholarship awards were to be announced by President Ciroma in Aso Rock some weeks later, Ayisha appeared along with the girls all beautifully dressed. The information had spread on how Ayisha risked her life to save the Bama Girls. It was made clear that Ayisha’s intervention prevented the killing of the majority, if not all the girls by killing Shekau. On receiving this information, the American government decided to release the bounty placed on Shekau’s head amounting to two million dollars to Ayisha. She was flown to America to receive the gift from the American President personally after which she was given permanent residence status in the country. No sooner had she settled down than the vesico vaginal fistula case she had been managing for decades, was treated.

Tears of joy and thanksgiving to Allah poured from her lips.

Ayisha’s story is still told today in Birnin Kudu, the Northern region and all over Nigeria. A statue of her has been erected by the Kano State government in the state capital where it stands till date.