Following Boko Haram insurgents who surrender their arms and ammunition to the government and renounce acts of terrorism and banditry continue to be reintegrated into the life of normalcy, there are big concerns that the females among them are increasingly finding it difficult to get male spouses.
More findings indicate that even as the repentant terrorists are settled into their various home communities, the females among them have complained that since their return, it has been difficult for them to marry as the law-abiding men in the society avoid them like a plague.
This fresh concern, it was gathered, constitutes a matter for serious concern to the various community leaders.
Our correspondent reports that official records put the total number of surrendered insurgents and their families at 162,000, but no such records show the number of spinsters, divorcees, or widows among them.
Some of the leaders of the communities have complained that their men are scared of venturing into any form of romance with the surrendered female insurgents despite the fact that some of the ladies have been expressing their secret desire for suitors to marry or remarry them.
“These ladies desperately want to marry or remarry, but men seem scared of them, as no suitors approach them with such proposal,” a ward head at Old Maiduguri, Modu Grema Wakil, complained to Arewa PUNCH in Maiduguri, on Monday,
“I have not compiled the number of such ladies, but they send messages to us as community leaders over the matter,” he said.
Wakil continued: “Our fear is that if these women and girls do not get the men to marry, they may be tempted to renege on their repentance vow from terror activities and return to the bush.
“But when they get suitors and marry or remarry in the law-abiding society, other girls and women still in the bush could be encouraged to surrender and come back home.”
Wakil continued: “Our fear is that if these women and girls do not get the men to marry, they may be tempted to renege on their repentance vow from terror activities and return to the bush.
“But when they get suitors and marry or remarry in the law-abiding society, other girls and women still in the bush could be encouraged to surrender and come back home.”
She said the state government would work with the Maiduguri-based NGO, Allamin Foundation, to create the required database for that purpose.
“The Foundation has forwarded to us the Charter of Demands of the various victims of the insurgency, including such women and girls,” Gambo stated, pointing out further, “We are still expecting a report from the Foundation on such demands to enable us do the needful for every set of victims.”
Moreover, many of them are said to have melted into the population, but preferring to raise their concerns to their various community leaders through the third party.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
