5 Things I Learnt From Nigeria's Insurgency

I
know you may be wondering what i really want to talk about by the title
of this article. am a Nigerian and i have had the opportunity to live
in different regions of the northern Nigeria ever since i was a little
boy. i schooled there till this very moment. i love the region and will
continue to appreciate how it has been of great help to my life. even
though i originate from the south-eastern Nigeria, i can speak the
popular tongue of the north(Hausa Language). this is to show the
influence it has had on me from childhood.


Insurgency
befell the northern region around 2009 but as of then didn't affect
much regions as the attacks were not expansive then. life was easy going
in the region as young and old were living and facing daily challenges
within their circle without any external imposed challenges on their
dear lives. but the story changed when the life-threatening attacks
knocked on the doors of the region where i resided(adamawa state).


It
all started December 2011 with a massive market robbery which shocked
everyone cause it was strange in the town were i lived. in fact before
the incidence it sounds impossible but behold it was when it
happened.some lives were lost. but by 2012, more were lost in January
and that was the beginning of the dark dawn in my state of residence.


Last year October 29th 2014, there was a terrorist invasion
which forced residents of the town of Mubi to migrate to cameroun and
other nearby regions that were safe as at those moment of attacks. you
can read how i and my friends survived the attacks by reading my survival series.


There are some serious lessons i learned  from all those moments which i will be sharing with you.



1. Death Can Come Anytime:


This is a common thought that may be natural by instincts but i
experienced its meaning the moments there were serious gunshots near me
on the day of the terror invasion. i came to have a clear view that a
human being with great plans for the future can actually vanish at any
moment irrespective of his/her personality.



In
the quest to survive i came to know more on how life can cease when i
heard that a lecturer of mine didn't survive the invasion. it was like a
movie but it was real. i lost a friend of mine to it also. a young man
so gentle with good plans for his future but he's gone now. out of all
this experience, i have come to know that death can actually come
anytime to anybody.




2. Lifetime Management:


Since the knowledge of how death could come without a notice was now in
place, the wisdom of managing every opportunity of life that i have
came into play. this is very crucial as it will help in the maintenance
of focus towards achieving a quest before a time up which is unknown to
anyone.


Everyday seen became +1 opportunity to be more serious with life in order to make the best out of it before it vanishes.






3. Appreciation Of Co-existence:

  In the process of survival, i came to appreciate co-existence more. at those horrible moments, me and people i never knew became friends and help each other out in those moments of struggle for survival. the fact that there was mutual understanding made the pains involved bearable. the shock of the event was easily subsided as we discussed amongst ourselves. there is another life in co-existence!




4. Language a Life Helper:

  Growing up in the northern Nigeria gave me an opportunity to learn Hausa language. i speak it all the time with friends and family not knowing that one day it will serve a great deal of help to me. while running away from the terror invasion, it was this same language i speak in a reflex manner that helped me and those that were with me to get the right route to get to cameroun.



At different stages  of the journey when we got confused, we used the language as a tool for communicating with the locals on those mountain routes. even while at the camerounian border it was still serving a need for us as some persons there could speak and understand it. it is very necessary you learn at least a language of the region where you reside if you can. it's helpful when you least expect.






5. Self Value a Respect-Generator:

  While we were at the Camerounian border, we were finding it hard to get a legal permit from their government to pass through their country and get back to Nigeria through Yola the state capital of Adamawa state. but the whole  story changes when Professor Okoronka came into the picture. he dialogued with the immigration officers as well as their army for a safe pass. his personality brought us a blessing and at his end goodwill relationship and respect. even when he was allowed to pass alone with some Nigerian custom officers, he rejected the offer.



The Professor had a positive self-value that's why he gained so much respect by his acts of kindness. in this i saw how helpful having a self value can be of help not just to oneself but to others around.





The above are but a few of some knowledge which i was opportune to acquire by experience in the moments of insurgency attacks on North-eastern Nigeria. i hope you learned some things too. didn't you?




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