Every well-meaning individual believes that peace should be the collective effort of everybody in Nigeria, but to our dismay, some saboteurs are out there doing everything humanly possible to disrupt the peaceful coexistence and set the people of Nigeria against each other especially the Christians against the Muslims.
Zainab Bulus Bawa is a 16 year old Hausa Christian Girl from Kugawa of Kubau LGA, Kaduna State Nigeria, who is now forcefully taken away from her parents, spellbound, converted to Islam and married her off by the Village Head of Anchau, Alhaji Idris Yusuf, Alhaji Usman Idris Kugawa and the Islamic leaders of that area without the consent of her biological parents. Saleh Idi Magami is a young Hausa Muslim man that goes to the Hausa Christians settlement of Kugawa on an unknown mission. Kugawa is a Hausa settlement of Both Christians and Muslims. Both of them have a history of living peacefully with each other, but the Muslim side are on the verge of destroying this peaceful co-existence by the support of the district and village heads of Anchau that are now sponsoring their Muslims brothers to commit evil against the Hausa Christians and then use the Muslims leaders to rally round and cover it with religion. They also use the LGA security team and the executives to support them, threaten and inflict pains on the Hausa Christian settlement of Kugawa.
On the 9th of March, 2018, the motive behind the coming of Saleh Idi Magami into the settlement of the Hausa Christians of Kugawa was uncovered. As usual, he receives the warmest welcome in the Hausa Christian settlement as a brother, little did the parents of Zainab knew that he was actually luring their daughter into a relationship with him. And when he discovered the parents were about to find out what’s going on, he quickly kidnapped the girl out of the town by the help of his sponsors.
Alh. Usman Idris Kugawa is the self-acclaimed richest man of the area, who believes he can use his wealth to achieve anything he wants. He called the parents of Zainab to inform them that he was actually the person that helped Saleh Idi Magami to take the girl away and that he did so because the Saleh in questions wants to marry her. And when they took the girl out her parent’s place, they took her to the Village Head of Anchau to keep the girl, which in real sense Kugawa is not even under his jurisdiction, but he did so because He and the Village Head of Anchau are allies. After Kidnapping Zainab, they indoctrinated and hypnotized her and then brought religion into the matter; “that now, she is a Muslim and as a Muslim, she cannot live with a Christian, and that they have given her Islamic parents according to Islamic injunctions who now have authority over her”.
The parents of Zainab have been running helter-skelter pleading with the Village Head to release their daughter but to no avail. Instead of listening to them, they are been rebuked and threatened on a daily basis. They did everything possible, but the Muslims would not return Zainab back to her parents.
On the 9th of May, 2018, the Parents of Zainab reported the matter to the Hausa Christians Foundation (HACFO) and after listening to them, the HACFO Team went to Kugawa to ascertain the matter, and on reaching Kugawa our ascertained the truth of what they reported to us. Without further hesitation we went to the Village Head of Anchau on the Matter, He together with his cabinet and the Muslims leaders all attested to the initial report that came to us by the Parents of Zainab without any contradiction.
In order to broker peace, and peaceful coexistence between the Christians and the Muslims of Kugawa and Anchau, we advocated on the need not to infringe on the right of anyone on any ground. We discussed at length for about 2hours and after then, we all reached a conclusion that justice will be done by returning Zainab back to her parents, and if Saleh Idi Magami really wants to marry her, he should go as a responsible man and follow the due process. They called the parents of Zainab back to go and receive their daughter the following day, but on reaching there the story totally changed to our greatest disappointment. The Village Head and the Alhaji Usman Idris Kugawa now said that they don’t have control any more in the matter, which actually they were the ones that sponsored this atrocity. The Parents of Zainab and the Team of the Hausa Christians Foundation were left stranded with nowhere to go. They left Zainab under the Custody of the Islamic leaders and they continued with their enchantment upon her.
This inhumane act of this magnitude is a watershed issue in the Hausa land that is always perpetrated by the Hausa Muslims on the Hausa Christians. They kidnapped a Hausa Christian girl usually a minor, convert her to Islam and carry out all manners of evil bewitchment upon her, make her unconscious and begin to do their biddings at all times. This is what they always want to achieve, after turning the sense of the girl, they will bring her out and ask her to say what she wants, after knowing fully well that they told her what to say and no matter what happens, it is only what they programmed her mind to say that she will say. And once she said what they told her to say, they will capitalize that the girl has made her choice and so, her choice should be respected. After they succeed, they will send her parent away, and go ahead of their agenda on the girl.
We are paying a huge price on advocating for a peaceful coexistence among the Hausa Christians and their Muslim brothers, especially on this matter. We are making every effort to make sure this injustice does not result into anything whatsoever that will tamper with the peace of that area, but the Village Head and Alhaji Usman are driving the issue to the point that all our efforts to ensure peace reigns is ruined. Neither Alhaji Usman nor the Village Head of Anchau or any of the Muslims leaders their has the right to kidnap, and take possession of any person’s daughter. But this is what has happened in this case because they believe that no one can help Mallam Bulus Bawa and the Hausa Christian Community of Kugawa.
Life at his time is not pleasant for these elderly parents of Zainab. They live in pain, sleep in pain, wake up in pain and move around in pain for losing their daughter not to death but to the people who use the power they have to molest and subdue those who are weak instead of helping them. This is the major problem we the Christians in Northern Nigeria face every single day. Everything can be covered in the name of Islam and it will scale through unhindered, instead of allowing justice to take its cause on any criminal issue. The rule of law is no longer respected but disregarded by the Muslims once anything can be done to favor Islam whether good or bad.
Today (20/05/2018) marks the 72nd day that the parents of Zainab have been wallowing in pain. Living in agony, and living hopelessly in the land they called theirs, the land that supposed to protect and help them live a better life just because they are Christians.
Why would the Muslims do to others what they can’t endure when others to them?
Why are the authorities in Northern Nigeria sponsoring all forms of evil against the Christians without any sense of human and sanctity for human life?
When would the Muslims accept that religion is a choice and not out of compulsion?
When would we all both as Christians and Muslims live to respect every Nigerian citizen irrespective of religious or tribal affiliation?
What Saleh Idi Magami did is evil, but he is protected and celebrated by those that supposed to call him to order. He has been shielded to the point that in all these days of pain, the Parents of Zainab cannot have access to him to even know the whereabouts of their daughter. The Alhaji Usman Idris Kugawa and the Village Head of Anchau Alhaji Idris Yusuf are the ones representing and defending him in all these days.
How can we achieve a sustainable peace when the Muslims feel the Christians are not human being but slaves, they don’t deserve anything or even basic human rights? How will peace reign when every instrument of power is turned against the Christians?
Right now, they’ve married Zainab away to her kidnapper. He has taken her as a wife without the consent of her parents. They are destroying the life of this innocent girl. They are hypnotizing her day and night. She is no longer in her senses. She does, says and eats whatever they want her to. All the Christian girls the Muslims kidnapped always suffer terrible sexual abuses, molestation of the highest order and enchantment that even affects their senses. Even when we recover them, it costs so much to bring them back to normal.
Right now, Zainab is in Captivity. Her parents are in terrible pain, her family and community are agonizing not because she is dead but because others believe they determine who lives and who dies, who enjoys life and who suffers every day. They took away the girl they never gave birth to. 16 years of labour to make Zainab fulfill her dreams and become who God wants her to be, have been shattered overnight.
We together with the Parents of Zainab and the entire Hausa Christians Community of Kugawa, make the following demands:
1. Zainab should be released and reunited back to her family immediately and unconditionally. She is still a minor and under the care of her parents. No one has the right to take her away from them.
2. The Culprit, Saleh Idi Magami should be brought to book and justice should take its cause.
3. The Village head of Anchau Alhaji Idris Yusuf and Alhaji Usman Idris Kugawa should be punished for sponsoring this act of inhumanity to man.
4. The Federal, State, and Local Government Authorities should desist from playing a role in anything that has the tendencies of disrupting the peace of this country.
5. The Northern Christians especially the Hausa Christians should not be regarded or treated as slaves just because they are Christians.
6. Human rights should and must be respected. And whoever is found wanton should be punished accordingly.
WE SAY NOT TO THE INCESSANT KIDNAPPING OF OUR HAUSA CHRISTIANS GIRLS IN NIGERIA
WE SAY NO TO THE HARDSHIP THE CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA ARE GOING THROUGH THAT IS SPONSORED BY THE ISLAMISTS IN GOVERNMENT
WE DEMAND THAT ZAINAB SHOULD BE REUNITED BACK TO HER PARENTS IMMEDIATELY.
WE WANT ZAINAB FREED FROM ISLAMIC CAPTIVITY.
#FREE ZAINAB TODAY#
(© Hausa Christians Foundation [HACFO], This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.facebook.com/HACFO - Published on 20th May, 2018)
