Youth (students) Flee from Boko Haram!

The northern part of Nigeria is ablaze. Well if one part is, sooner or later the fire will spread unless we quench it, right now.

I woke up on Wednesday morning to an alarming text message from a friend whom I've never met... He was fleeing from Maiduguri, far from Boko Haram and the crisis in town. Just in case you have not been following the news, Boko Haram is a sect in the North protesting against western education by bombing “innocent” people. Or how will you better define it? It is total chaos, a real hot mess for everyone.

My friend’s text read, "Hello Jenny, I'm trying to find my way out of Maiduguri. My online network was down since yesterday..." A few days before, University of Maiduguri UNIMAID was closed until further notice. According to him, students are stranded. No transportation. "No time, no vehicles to ferry out...Prayers" please take out a minute to pray for the safety of people in Borno/Maiduguri.

"Students in free for all over few commercial taxis/buses. Various state governments evacuating indigenes." As at Wednesday, Gombe sent 32 buses with escorts, Taraba 15, Kano, Bauchi, Adamawa and Niger came in too- Benue and Plateau were on the way. Lagos indigenes were hopeful.

"Long ATM queues. Fares tripled leaving students stranded. Only 2 ATMs in school are selectively working, going to town is not an option" People have money but in their account. Despite the tension, the students joked among themselves "IS YOUR MONEY SOFT COPY OR HARD COPY?"

A few hours later he sent a message saying “Thank God I have found a bus to Damaturu. It is a step, there are hundreds here wishing they were me.”

Not long into the journey, the vehicle’s Tire got burst and the spare Tire got flattened minutes later.

Where are you now? I asked. "Trying to find the name of the village, the only thing I can see is a CPC flag. We hope to find a mosque or see people there." Came the reply.

When they got to Damaturu, my friend and four others from the same bus were able to beat the waiting game there. "We have boarded a taxi and are heading forward. We're currently at Potiskum, home town of Adamu Waziri, former minister of Police Affairs" He said. “It is in the neighbouring Yobe state. You know, all these hours, the North is really large.”

To cut the long story short- my brave friend successfully transited from Jos to Abuja. He watched other students holding each other, exchanging phone numbers in solidarity. By the way, in Bauchi, they met the luxurious buses Gov. Oshiomhole of Edo state sent to Maiduguri to evacuate students. As for the Boko Haram, my friend reports, “They can afford to remain a faceless enemy because their mission is accomplished- children can’t go to school, Maiduguri is a ghost town. They have succeeded in executing a total embarrassment at the Federal Government. What worries me is their level of sophistication and neat efficiencies, it speaks of capabilities beyond even the disgruntled proletariat.” My friend signs off on a note of warning; this is not a time for our government leaders to play chess with the lives of Nigerians or the future of our country. God bless Nigeria.