Maryam Umar, a mother of two and the mainstay of her aged mother who is stricken with cancer has lived a lifetime of drinking agonisingly from the broth served by sorrow and wretch.
Married off at a very young age, she hungered desperately to submit her life to a privilege of education. The side of her life that desired education also ushered her into irretrievable struggle that ultimately cut short her marital life. She obtained a higher national diploma, but was thrown out of marital home. Currently on national service in Damaturu, Yobe state, she has been supporting her children since Boko Haram abducted and killed her ex-husband when the terror group first invaded Gwoza and declared it as their caliphate.
On the threshold of victory over the subduing wretch of her life, a mere breath of a distance from recognisable honour, the tragic happened. Travelling to Gwoza mid January to see her children, the vehicle in which Umar was traveling was ambushed by Boko Haram. Other passengers made a dash into the nearby grooves. Umar was not so lucky. She has been in captivity, making the number among the hundreds of anonymous Nigerians in captivity in Boko Haram hands.
According to Maryam’s brothers, they are yet to tell her ailing mother that one of her favorite daughters has been abducted by Boko Haram and worse of all, the family is not sure if she is dead or alive.
Investigations by online medium, The Cable revealed that there are between 600 to 700 young women, without a name, face and hashtag, spread across the three main factions of Boko Haram operating in the Northeast. This number does not include older women and children in captivity. Both the captives and their loved ones despair of any likelihood that there will ever be any rescue or negotiated settlement for the captives to reunite with their loved ones.
“Maryam is poor, she is not the daughter of any influential person, she does not fit into the profile of those that people will create hashtags on her behalf,” a family member lamented.
