-By Abdul Mahmud
Fourteen days have passed since armed men tore through the safety of a school in Oyo State and carried away teachers and pupils whose only offence was to be present in a place dedicated to education and learning. Fourteen days have passed since families were thrust into a state of anguish that no parent, spouse, sibling or child should ever experience. Fourteen days have passed since ordinary Nigerians began each morning hoping for news of freedom and ended each night with uncertainty. The voices emerging from captivity are painful to hear. They carry the weight of fear, anguish and dying hope. When the video of Mrs. Alamu appeared in the social media pleading, “Please, negotiate with them. Don’t leave us in the bush. The adults and children are suffering under the rain and sun. Don’t use force. Don’t let them waste our lives,” she spoke from a place that many of us can scarcely imagine. Her plea was neither self-serving nor contrived, it was the plea of a mother desperate to see herself and the children in captivity return home alive.
Behind every victim is a family caught between hope and despair. There are parents staring at empty beds. There are children longing to reunite with their beloved siblings. There are relatives whose phones ring and whose hearts race with every incoming call. Daily life continues around them, but time has taken on a different meaning. Each hour feels longer. Each day deepens the burden they carry.
Public discussion about kidnapping often gravitates towards security briefings, operational updates and official statements. Such conversations have their place. They are necessary. They help us understand the scale of the challenge confronting the country. They can, however, create distance between the public and the suffering of those at the centre of these tragedies. The victims in Oyo are not statistics. They are people whose lives were interrupted in a brutal manner. Some are teachers who chose a profession rooted in service to humanity. They entered classrooms to shape young minds and contribute to the future of their communities. Others are pupils whose days should be occupied by lessons, friendships and dreams of what they might become. Their captivity represents more than a security incident. It is an assault on the dignity of human life and on the promise that schools ought to embody.
Schools occupy a special place in every nation. They are where parents send their children with trust. They are where nations invest their aspirations. A child walking into a classroom should never become a hostage. A teacher standing before pupils should never have to contemplate survival in a forest at the hands of armed abductors. This tragedy also confronts us with a moral questions. How do we respond when fellow citizens cry out for help? Do we sit on our palms as the government is doing at the moment and do nothing? Compassion cannot be confined to mere public statements expressing sympathy. The anguish of these victims calls for urgency on the part of the government to act. Act decisively. The federal and Oyo state governments must treat every passing day as precious.
The emotional appeals from captivity reveal conditions that are becoming increasingly unbearable. Exposure to rain and scorching weather presents risks that extend beyond discomfort. Children are especially vulnerable. Physical hardship compounds psychological trauma. Every additional day in captivity carries consequences that may endure long after freedom is secured.
Today, across our country, communities have become familiar with stories of abduction. Familiarity, however, must never harden us into indifference. Every kidnapping should disturb the conscience of the nation. Every victim deserves recognition as a fellow citizen whose life carries immeasurable value. Many Nigerians who watched and listened to Mrs. Alamu’s plea will hear echoes of their own fears. Parents will imagine their children in similar circumstances. Teachers will picture colleagues enduring uncertainty far from home. Citizens across the country will recognise how quickly ordinary lives can be taken away by the beasts who live in the forests of our country . Today, the most urgent concern is the safe return of those being held. Their families deserve relief from this torment. Their communities deserve reunion and healing. The children deserve an opportunity to resume their education. The teachers deserve the chance to return to the profession they embraced in service to others.
Fourteen days is far too long for any child to spend in captivity. Fourteen days is far too long for any teacher to endure fear in the wilderness. Fourteen days is far too long for families to wait for the embrace of loved ones. Our country must hear their voices. Our rulers must remember their humanity. We must all remain steadfast in the pursuit of their freedom until every one of them comes home.