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How We Live and Leave

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"YBtHI4BZ" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p><strong>By Abdulmutallib Mukhtar<&sol;strong><&sol;p><div class&equals;"ZYp16lzn" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Our village had been under constant attacks by a group of people whom we had no iota of knowledge about&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They would come and start shooting sporadically&period; The shooting usually lasted for about three to four hours in a broad daylight and sometimes in the night&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Those who were mostly killed are men because they were always outside&comma; either at the markets or at their various farms trying to survive the lashing economy of the country&period; And when they attacked in the night&comma; women were not also left out&period; It was in one of such terrible attacks that I lost my two loving parents&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"lzdx3n33" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The attackers set the whole village on fire after the operation&period; I wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t have been narrating this story had I not visited my grandmother in a neighboring village on the day of the attack&period; I would have also been killed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;nigeriantracker&period;com&sol;2020&sol;11&sol;07&sol;fighting-banditry-zamfara-involves-traditional-rulers&sol;">Fighting Banditry &colon;Zamfara Involves Traditional Rulers<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>How painful and sympathetic the life of a girl of my age without both parents&quest; I was about 17 years old then&period; That was how I miserably settled in the village of my grandmother who had grown so old that she could kick the bucket even in the next minute&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The village was also not free from attacks as many people were killed at the market the following day after the massacre of my parents&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>My grandmother fell sick again&period; I knew she would die because the sickness of old age has no cure unless one can become young again&period; The following morning&comma; I woke up only to see her dead body like a log beside me&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>I could remember the peaceful life we used to have in the village before the frequent bloody attacks started&period; Those precious days of gold and silver that we used to play the cultural dance in the moonlit night&period; I missed the days boys would come and propose to us while playing&period; I could recall how we used to play all night&comma; especially when there was a wedding or during the festive period&period; I wish death would come and take me out of this endless misery&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Seeing that the horrible attacks seemed to have no end&comma; the villagers decided to migrate to a distant place which I unwillingly followed them without anybody to console me&period; However&comma; I thought of my uncle who went for a business in the city&comma; settled and married there&period; My father once took me to his house&period; I had little money with me which I got to the park where I would get a car to the city&period; I was sure I could locate the house&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>On our way to the city&comma; we came to a roadblock which we thought was a police checkpoint only for us to discover it were kidnappers disguised as policemen with their guns&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They took five of us to a place we could not tell&period; Three of us are women and two are men&period; Among the women&comma; I was the youngest because I was about to attain the age of 18&period; I had a body that made me looked older than my age&period; That was the reason I think the leader of the kidnappers dragged me to his room&period; After raping me not once&comma; not twice&comma; not thrice but times I could not tell&comma; he offered me to a number of men I could also not tell&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>They needed money again to set us free&period; They asked the phone number of our relatives but for me I told them I had non&period; I could hear how they were negotiating the ransom with the relatives of other people kidnapped along with me&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I was the only one who remained in the camp as all others were released after their families had paid the ransom&period; These men didn&&num;8217&semi;t deem it fit to release me after all that they did to me&period; They said to my ears that they would continue to rape me and that would serve as my ransom&period; I spent about 30 days in their camp&period; They planned for another ambush and so they set me free by dropping me on the road with my eyes veiled and hands tied&period; I had been lying down on the road for long without any car stopping to assist me because everyone was scared of the evil plan of armed robbers or kidnappers&period; But like that one fearless generous man stopped and picked me out of the horrendous place&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While the man was driving&comma; some number of men shot the car to stop him but fortunately&comma; he was able to escape&period; With our hearts beating like a tambourine drum we reached the city&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>That is how we live in this time and that is how we leave to our graves in this time&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Written by Abdul Mutallib Muktar<br &sol;>&NewLine;abdulmutallib&period;muktar&commat;gmail&period;com<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 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