The Day I Learned To Appreciate Life Rijam Terlumun Iorver   © Copyright 2023 by Rijam Terlumun Iorver

Photo of the author.

The koi-koi sound of her high heels waked me up again. I raised from my bed and walked out of my room.

“Rijam you did go to church again?” Juliet inquired.

“No I don’t and I don’t feel bad about it too.” I said stepping down the steps of the block’s veranda.

“You need deliverance Rijam I swear. I can count the number of times you have gone to church since you were transferred to General. What are mine say? Its not even up to five times.” Juliet said.

“Jul that’s your business… How many churches and mosque do we have in this country? Yet evil ascend the thrown. Are those crazy corrupt politicians not Christian and Muslims? All these churches what do they preach money. Tithe and offerings for your prosperity bra-bra-braaa. Nonsense. I stay at home and read my Bible after all, it’s the same Bible they are going to preach when you go to church, so we are the same.” I concluded as usual.

“May God help you. Rijam” she said in defeated manner.

“Thanks. He has been doing so all these while.” I said then went inside my room. I was reading the Gail Message yesternight it was still laying beside my bed open. I didn't feel like reading the Bible though it was Sunday, so I continue with the Grail Message after taking a cup of tea.

“Rijam…Rijam Ekene said people are running, they are fighting.” Juliet voice jerk me out of my nap.

“Jul since when have crisis cease in this place. Is it not Northeast? Taraba has over thrown Borno Adamawa and Yobe now when it comes to crisis especially southern Taraba. Killing and kidnapping people on daily bases…

“Na my problem with you be that Rijam you too the sabi this one na inside town oga”. Juleit said with a mint of anger.

I quickly put on a shirt and we headed out of our block. To my greatest surprise General Hospital was filled to the brim with people and more were still pouring in. Some with luggage some mothers pulling at their children while some strapped their babies on their back rushing to and fro.

I saw a crowd at the mortuary. I pulled Juliet behind me as we advance to the mortuary. A plumpy young lady lay in a pool of her blood. She was stabbed through the chest. The blood was still fresh. Her left jaw was broken blood oozing from her ear too.

A guy in his early thirties was explaining how the whole thing happened. He was behind the bike that carried the girl. The Muslim boys bursted at the main road and were trying to block the road, in the process of trying to dodge the stones and sticks that they were throwing at the first bike that carried the girl the girl fell and they rushed over her and started hitting her with sticks, stones and stabbing her. It took the grace of God that he escaped being killed too. His body was shivering and his voice fidgeted has he narrates the story.

We turned to go back. I saw some guys running with something tie in rags. I learned later that they are the Kuteb guys, they were running to end of General Hospitals fence to mount a counter attack against the Muslim guys.

We heard gunshots a few distance from General Hospital. At first, I thought it was just a normal gunshots from the army trying to scare the hoodlums away. But the sounds grew louder and more intense, making us realize that something more serious was going on. The next few minutes were like a horror movie. People were running helter-skelter. Fear and confusion were written on everyone's faces. My heart was racing as I tried to make sense of what was happening. We ran into the laboratory, soon people were filled there everyone was narrating what he knows or has been told is the cause of the crisis. I just stood inside the big Lab building filled with different people except the Muslims. This was not their area and they were trying earnestly to attack the area. A guy was saying that it was the Muslim people that caused the crisis to erupt. They have been going into those villages where the Fulanis have chased the villager collected their lands and settle to collect the Fulani cattle come and sell for them in Takum cattle market then buy food and return the remaining money to the Fulanis in those village. So the Kuteb guys were angry and approached the Muslim guys and asked them to stop what they were doing for the Fulanis but the Muslim guys did not. So anytime the Muslim guys go to the villages and carry the cattle from the Fulani men to come and sell for them the Kuteb guys will shoot down the vehicles, burn the cattle and vehicle, kill the driver too. So this Sunday which is the cattle market day too the same thing happened in one of all those villages. On hearing what happened the Muslim guys started blocked roads from the cattle market and killing people at random out of anger whether Kuteb or not. The crisis degenerated into a full religious crisis. If the Muslim guys see you whether you are Tiv, Igbo, Kuteb, Jukun or whoever as long as you are not a Muslim you are gone and vise versa. It became Hausa Fulani against the rest of the Christians.

We were stuck up in the Lab I didn't know where else to go, I couldn’t see Juliet again. The crisis was already spreading throughout the town, and the chaos was too much to handle. Soon, I saw houses set on ablaze, smokes soaring high in the sky.

The shootings got very intense, the sound of the gunshots vibrated through the Lab as if they were shooting right at us. Bullets were falling on the roof of the Lab I had to find a way out of Lab cause my mind was racing too high and I was loosing it. I decided to make my way back to my block as fast as I could. I moved quickly and navigated through the building, avoiding the bullets flying over head as much as can at every turn. I saw people running in different directions, screaming for help. Some had already been killed by stray bullets, while others were going on the run. The crisis was spreading rapidly, engulfing the entire town and General Hospital vacinity was no longer safe.

It all happened so quickly that I felt like I was in a dream. I never in my wildest imagination thought that Takum, a town I had known this few month of been here to be peaceful would turn into a war zone so quickly without warning. Though I have heard stories of this town turning into war zone without warning but this one was a shock I never prepared for.

As I got closer to my house, I realized that it wouldn't be safe to go in. I could see smoke billowing from the direction of our block, and I knew that I was in deep trouble.

I had to think fast and come up with a plan. I had to survive this. I looked around me and saw a small bush in the distance. I knew that if I could get there, I might be able to hide from the chaos.

I darted towards the bush, dodging bullets along the way. When I got there, I realized that a few other people had the same idea. We huddled together in that bush, hoping that the crisis would pass. We stayed there for a few hours, listening to the gunshots and the sounds of burning buildings. I prayed silently, thanking God for keeping me alive. But I knew that the situation was far from over.

After a while, we realized that the crisis was not going to stop cause at 6:00PM the gunshots were still coming ceaselessly. It was getting worse by the minute. We knew that we had to come up with an escape plan.

I suggested that we move towards the mountain, crossing over to the other side of the mountain was a big risk, but it was our only chance of getting to 93 Battalion. Ada Barracks Takum.

We decided to move at night when it was dark. We made our way quietly towards the mountain, avoiding the main roads and sticking to the bush paths. We walked through the night, exhausted and scared.

In the morning, we were in Ada Barrack. We were safe but exhausted. We saw other people who had fled inside the town too, seeking refuge in the Barrack.

We shared our experiences and stories, and I realized that I was not alone. Many people had survived the crisis, but many others had lost their lives.

I stayed in the Barrack for a few weeks that the curfew lasted trying to come to terms with what had happened. I felt lucky to be alive, but I knew that my life would never be the same again.

Eventually, I returned to town, but the town had changed. It was scarred and traumatized by the crisis. The faces that stared at you were void of trust. They lack trust for the fact that you belong to a different faith and not theirs. But I was determined to rebuild my life and move on. I walk pass the place where that lady was killed. The rain, feet, or tires had washed away the blood. I took a quick glance at the spot. Who has remembered that she was murdered here at this spot in cold blood on the 21^st May, 2023 at around 1:00PM?

I continue walking towards the market. My heart bleed as climb the little bridge that was a dumping grave for many. The place still gushed an odoriferous smell of rotten bodies, how many people know or have heard about this genocide. The lives that have been wasted for nothing. No newspaper or media platform have reported it, though someone posted it on Facebook. The post said they killed about one hundred and thirty two Muslim. Photos of some corpse lined close to what I believed to be a mass grave was displaced but how about those Christians killed in Angwan Abuja, the Muslim Dominated areas? How about those killed by stray bullets and the aged ones who died from the rattling gun sounds? People died much more than that…but of course this is Northeast where life has no value.

The crisis taught me to appreciate life, to value it more than anything else. It taught me that nothing in life is guaranteed and that we should cherish every moment we have.

I will never forget that Sunday. It was a day that changed my life forever. But I survived, and I am grateful for being alive. For those who couldn’t may their souls rest in peace.