An Encounter With Anti Boko Haram Female Fighters
BY MOHAMMED ISMAIL
The atmosphere was brimming with excitement as hundreds of hunters trooped to the Mayo Belwa forest to celebrate their annual festival christened Salala in local parlance.
This year’s Salala celebration was unique for the fact that the hunters who became part of the war against Boko Haram insurgency that led to the liberation of many local governments captured by Boko Haram insurgents at its peak are basking in the euphoria of their contribution to the continued existence of their motherland.
A first time comer to the event may consider it as completely masculine as the hunters are mainly fierce looking men in various age groups, wielding their locally manufactured Dane guns and chanting war slogans dominated the scene.
But unknowingly, a number of intrepid and adventurous women are tucked in the largely male dominated gathering; these women, are wholeheartedly involved in the violent war that led to the pulverisation of the Boko Haram insurgency when it reached its zenith about two years ago.
The presence of these gallant women amidst the hunters which was as heart rending as it was scintillating reveals that behind women’s easy comportment lies an indefatigable can -do spirit which could never be subdued with the wave of the hand.
It also probed the truism in the dictum which says that what a man can do, a woman can do even better as these women of valour defied the odds and survived in climes only meant for the tough and the rugged.
It may sound unbelievable that these tough women with scant training and obsolete weapons are fully involved in the war against Boko Haram at a time when trained Nigerian soldiers with the requisite training and equipment were sent packing from their bases leading to the annexation of vast swathes of Nigerian territories at the peak of the insurrection.
Their only motivation, resilience and steadfastness to remain in the war against Boko Haram insurgency according to them was borne out of the desire to protect, and preserve the territorial integrity of their motherland and to ensure that the country’s unity is not in any way compromised by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency that nearly dislocated the country.
Before the vigilante operatives and hunters were involved in the war against Boko Haram insurgency, the insurgents had created a wave of panic across the land as they killed lives and destroyed properties with impunity; even Nigerian troops whose exploits in restoration of peace across the globe was celebrated became an object of pity as the Boko Haram insurgents, humiliated, desecrated, maimed and killed many of them and in the process sent many of them running from the war front like villains.
In her submission, one of the gallant amazons that partook in the war against the dreaded Boko Haram and a woman commander from Gombi Local Government, Aisha Bakari Gombi said that her motivation in joining the war against the dreaded sect stemmed out of the desire to ensure the protection of Nigeria’s territorial integrity and to also ensure that the country remained united.
“I know I have only one life and one day that life is going to be snuffed out of me, but I consider it noteworthy to sacrifice that life to protect women, children, the aged and the down trodden because in most instances, they are the worst affected by the activities of Boko Haram insurgents.
“Whenever I heard that Boko Haram struck villages killing children, women and the aged, I always have a feeling of emptiness within me as I know if strong willed people acted, the Boko Haram imbroglio will be a thing of the past.
“So I availed myself at the first opportunity to be involved in the fight against these dreaded monsters when the opportunity came and I can tell you, that I have never regretted my involvement in the war which led to the liberation of many communities and saved a number of lives,” Gombi said.
Gombi said that she was part of the counter-insurgency that led to the liberation of many territories making mincemeat of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency that became the inglorious epitaph of north east for the past six years.
“I have no feeling trampling on any Boko Haram villain as they deserved to be treated like the common villains they are and such need to be shown the way to perdition for all of us to get peace and harmony in our communities.”
“Boko Haram is an ungodly contraption and needs no mercy from us and since we started our operations, we have been giving them a run for their money in the game they understand the best until we make sure that the villains are all crushed.
“They are men and women of hell and we shall ensure that they get a quick sentence to where they rightly deserve; the hell,” she said.
Another Amazon in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency, Agnes Jeremiah who is also one of the women commanders from Demsa Local government noted that the involvement of women in the fight against the insurgency should serve as a reminder to all that what a man can do, a woman can do better.
She noted that that she was involved in all the operations that led to the routing of Boko Haram insurgents across Adamawa State adding that she derives her strength from the fact that her actions are tailored to salvage humanity from ruination.
Jeremiah added that there is full cooperation between male and female fighters fighting against insurgency adding that issues such as gender discrimination, religious or ethnic colouration do not exist in the system as their major motivation was to crush Boko haram insurgents.
She noted that one of the challenges being confronted by the group has to do with the infiltration of Boko Haram insurgents into civilian population as the insurgents are being consistently degraded by the superior fire powers of Nigerian Troops being assisted by the local hunters urging for the cooperation of individuals especially in the areas of intelligence gathering for the speedy end to the insurgency.
http://leadership.ng/news/518207/encounter-anti-boko-haram-female-fighters
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