The widows of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members who died on the frontline have called on the Borno State government to provide them with food, healthcare and education for their children, saying they are poor and struggling to make ends meet.

Ya Gana Ibrahim, one of the widows, told RNI that her husband was a member of the CJTF and was killed in a bomb blast in the Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.

“My husband’s death was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I loved him dearly. I will never forget the pain and sorrow I went through when I was told he had died. The blast happened six years ago. Since then, I have had to take care of my seven children – their education, health and other needs – by doing small jobs, such as sweeping and washing dishes and doing domestic chores in other people’s houses. I also fry and sell soya beans and yams, I do some tailoring and rear chickens to sell eggs and the meat.

“Since my husband’s death I have not received any assistance either from the Borno State government or non-governmental organisations [NGOs]. I am finding it very difficult to look after my children. Each day is a struggle and I am suffering. I thank God that with the help of God-fearing people and philanthropists, all my seven children are going to school and I am very happy about it. And I would never send my children on to the streets to hawk. And I do not want to take them out of school because I know the value of education and I respect my children’s dignity and their future ambitions. That’s why I’m trying so hard to work as hard as I can to ensure that my children get a good education so that they will prosper in the future.”

Ibrahim said she desperately needed support from the government and humanitarian agencies.

“I need help so that I can feed them, educate them and keep them healthy.”

Ya Bintu M Gana told RNI that she lost her husband – also a member of the CJTF – in 2016.

“Since then, I have been struggling financially. Sometimes we are short of food and healthcare and education are very expensive. My husband was a secretary in the Lamisula unit of the CJTF in the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) before he died. We had four children together. But, because of a lack of funds, our daughter, who is in secondary school, cannot write her final examinations because I do not have money for school fees. The others in her class wrote the exams last year and she is missing out badly.”

Gana said that even though she received some humanitarian aid from the Borno State government it was not enough to sustain the family.

“I am grateful to the government because they have enrolled two of my children in school. But my daughter cannot write her exams and one of my kids is not in school. I am pleading with the government to help us further. Since their father died on the battlefields, life has really been exceedingly difficult. Our husbands gave their lives to protect other people’s lives and property. They went head-to-head with insurgents. Now we – the widows and children – need the government’s help and protection so that we can live decent lives.”

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO