Life has been tough after Madalla bombing-Victims

A first-time visitor to St. Theresa's Catholic
Church, Madalla, Niger State may find it
hard to believe that the solemn
congregation singing hymns to their
creator are the same people that suffered a
deadly bomb attack from the extremist
Boko Haram sect on December 25, 2011.
The bomb attack, which claimed over 44
lives, damaged the church building and
other houses in the neighbourhood. But
from the look of things, the assembly has
gradually recovered from the physical
damage and psychological trauma of that
attack. The dead have been buried, the
church renovated and the bruised
survivors have continued with life. Though
the bomb attack occurred about 30 months
ago,
the members seemed to have put the
tragedy behind them and are forging
ahead with optimism and faith.
However, the congregation may not
quickly forget that the Federal Government
did not lend a helping hand to the church
in its time of need. The parish priest, Rev.
Fr. Isaac Achi, expressed the feelings of the
congregation to Saturday PUNCH in an
interview.
He stated that the Federal Government did
not assist the church during its most trying
time, adding that the some victims of the
blast received only building materials from
the National Emergency Management
Agency.
According to the cleric, the government did
not help those that lost family members,
cars, property and businesses that were
destroyed by the bombers. Achi said that
the church struggled all alone to assist
affected members spiritually and
materially, noting that the rehabilitation of
the bomb victims was a serious burden on
the church.
Achi was full of praises for Akwa Ibom
State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, who
donated money to the church and the
Central Bank, which gave N25m.
The cleric, however, said the church
crossed many hurdles before it could get
the CBN fund.
He said, "It is not been easy for somebody
to see your house and church being
destroyed. There are some people behind
Boko Haram and we need to find out why
they are destroying places of worship and
killing people.
"Up till today, the government has not
done anything to rebuild structures
destroyed by Boko Haram or compensate
those whose houses and businesses were
razed by the insurgents. But the
government is talking about amnesty for
them.
"We have to see how we can compensate
victims. Some policemen were killed, some
went to work and didn't come back, so
why should the government be talking of
granting amnesty to the perpetrators while
the victims were given nothing?"
The priest stated that following the attack,
a number of people relocated from Madalla.
He noted that this had not affected the
population of the church significantly
because of the influx of people from
Taraba, Bauchi and other states where
members of the sect were active.
"A number of people that just settled in
Madalla have joined the church. So, the
population of the church has not reduced
significantly on account of the relocation
of some members," he said.
Asked how he had been supporting the
bereaved members of the church, Achi said
that he had worked hard to encourage and
build up the congregation spiritually
through prayers and counselling.
"I have been doing everything on my own,
praying for them and encouraging them to
continue with their lives. We have rebuilt
the church with support from the Akwa
Ibom State governor and our own internal
efforts. We have been talking to victims
and building them up spiritually to the best
of our ability.
"In every society where there is a
challenge, it is a troubled time for them. But
wey have stood firm by God. We are more
prayerful and relying on God," he said.
The cleric expressed support for the
ongoing security operations in the North-
Eastern part of the country, saying it
marked the beginning of the end for the
sect. He encouraged victims of Boko Haram
attacks to be courageous and have faith in
God even as he prayed to God to comfort
them.
He said, "Everything that has a beginning
will definitely come to an end; from
Maitasine to Boko Haram, they will all come
to an end. The prayer of every Muslim and
Christian is that the security challenge will
come to an end and Nigeria will have peace
again."
A member of the church, Godwin Asuquo,
whose car was destroyed during the blast
said he was disappointed by the Federal
Government's refusal to assist the victims.
Asuquo, a businessman, said he was yet to
save enough money to buy another car,
adding that he has been forced to make do
with commercial motorcycles.
"I don't understand why the government
would not assist the victims, but it is willing
to
dole out money to the evil doers in the
guise of an amnesty programme. My car
was destroyed during the blast and till
now, I've not be able to save money to
replace it because things are not easy," he
lamented.
Emmanuel Ehikwe, whose building was
damaged, also lamented about
"government's insensitivity" to the plight
of the victims.
He said, "We have been left to our plight
with nothing because we have not
received any aid from either the Federal
Government or Niger State government,
whereas we pay our taxes as at when due
to the Niger State government and we also
contribute to the Nigerian economy.
"Our houses have been unjustifiably
destroyed by some enemies of the state
and we have been left homeless. Our
businesses have since then collapsed and
we are now living from hand to mouth,
under the shadow of poverty that we have
found ourselves due to no fault of ours."

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