Remembering the ‘Mubi 43’

ONE year after, parents, friends and colleagues of the slain 43 students of the Federal Polytechnic in Mubi, Adamawa State, are still mourning. The death of these promising youngsters, they said on Tuesday, is difficult to forget.

Mr John Odewale whose son, James, a National Diploma (ND) II Electrical Electronic Engineering student, was among those killed by the gunmen who invaded the school in the night of October 1, last year, said: “We have tried hard to forget it but my brother, it has not been easy for me and my wife to cope with the reality that a child we reared for 19 years could be killed just like that by people we still don’t know. What is painful is that the identities of the killers cannot be confirmed and in the last one year, nobody has come to tell us the reason why our son should die for no just cause.

“In the last one year, we have not been contacted by the government, whether state or federal, over the death of our son . This is the height of insensitivity. Innocent students were killed because of the inability of the government to manage the security of the country. The only people who visited us were members of the polytechnic management, who brought N30,000 to buy casket to bury our son. Is this a country?” Odeyemi, who has been living in Adamawa State for more than two decades, asked.

The feeling was the same when hundreds of students of the polytechnic gathered in the school’s main auditorium last Tuesday to say prayers for their departed colleagues.

Clad in black attires, the students quietly filed into the hall one after the other. They held an interdenominational session for the deceased students.

They were led by the students’ Union President, Joseph Usiiju.

Deto Etim, a student of Management, who escaped unhurt when his Wuro Patugi hostel was invaded by the gunmen, thanked God for sparing his life.

Reliving the incident, he said: “It was a shocking moment for me because I had said my last prayer. The attackers were knocking on my door but I remained in prayer until they left my room to another. I heard the cry of my fellow students being killed. That scene was a hell.”

At the remembrance service, their colleagues promised to ensure that they did not die in vain.

They said the security around the campus and the community is nothing to write home about, urging the government to find the killers.

They decried what they called insensitivity on part of the government to fish out the killers and bring them to the book.

Usiiji said: “Up till this moment, we don’t know the people that went to Wuro Patugi to kill our colleagues. Even the management does not know. How many students will die if the attackers come back? Government must find the killers and strengthen security around the campus and off-campus hostels.”

After the prayer session, the students planned to embark on a procession in the community but they were stopped by the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Mr Leo Ekpene, and the polytechnic’s security personnel.

Ekpene said the move was necessary because of the security situation in Mubi town.

Joy Solomon, a Higher National Diploma (HND) II Business Administration and Management, said security in Mubi and the surrounding communities remained fragile. “Up till now, the killers of our colleagues have not been found. We don’t even know if they live around us. Government should ensure adequate security because we cannot afford to witness more bloodshed,” she said.

Rose Nkwang, a ND II Computer Science, said: “Mubi is still not safe for us. The security situation in the community is yet to improve. We want government to deploy more troops to this area. That would be a better way to forestall repeat of the incident. It makes no sense that after the crisis, we cannot beat our chest on security in Mubi.”

But Ahmed Isiaka, a student of Mathematics and Statistics, disagreed with his colleagues, saying security had relatively improved in Mubi town. “There has been an improvement in security after the unfortunate incident. Security personnel have been drafted to keep an eagle eye on the campus and residents of affected areas. I really appreciate the government for its efforts so far but the killers must be found. This will heal our wound and make us put the killing behind us,” Isiaka said.