Mohammed Haruna Bello (9News Nigeria, Yobe)
Shehu Suleiman Bello, a tailor has abandoned Western Education after a surviving a devastating suicide bomb attack at school.
Now 28 years of age, Shehu said the impact of the attack has left an unforgettable mark in his life, and a trauma that continues to hunt his daily living.
The suicide bomb attack happened on a Monday morning at Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum, a local government area of Yobe State in Nigeria, during a routine students asssembly exercise.
According to the eyewitnesses who narrated the incident, the suicide bomber, estimated to be between the age of 15 to 17 years old, strapped himself with the explosives devices and disguised himself in a school uniform to blend in with the students.
When he realized that the prefects on duty suspected he was carrying something suspicious, he ran at full speed into the assembly hall and detonated the explosives, killing dozens and injuring countless of the students.
The police report stated that 47 victims of the blast died while 79 of the students sustained various degrees of injuries.
Now 11 years later, Shehu said the traumatic event forced him to quit school permanently, and never set foot in it again.
At age 17, Shehu was an SS 2 student when the bomb blast ripped through the assembly hall.
”I was devastated and mentally drained” as chaos, confusion, yelling, and clouds of dust filled the air.
When narrating his ordeal, Shehu said that he did not fully understand what had happened at first, except that something terrible had happened.
“I felt weak and helpless, but somehow found the courage to stand up. My fear began when I saw a completely amputated hand lying in a pool of blood on the floor. I was about to start running when I saw myself surrounded by pieces of human flesh, some body parts were hanging on branches of trees, both near and far from the hall.”
Shehu ran home and was received by his elder brother Dahiru and stepmother, Aunt Adama.
“I was not fully in my senses when I reached home, they were the ones who made me realize that debris of human flesh and blood were all over my uniform. Dahiru later dug a hole and buried the uniform,” he narrated.
In his narration, he pointed out that whenever he hears the sound of a sharp or heavy object hitting the ground or floor, his heart trembles with extreme fear and anxiety.
These sounds, he said, brings back the trauma, the tears, and the vivid memories of gory images of his friends, classmates, and beloved colleagues who lost their lives.
“Whenever I heard such sounds, it sense shivers down my skin and would remain quiet for a long time, without eating, drinking, or speaking to recover.”
In an efforts to recover emotionally, physically and psychologically, Shehu’s father advised him to travel far away to Obajana in Kogi State, were he was hosted by his uncle, a truck driver at Aliko Dangote Cement Plant.
“My uncle welcomed me to his home, and later linked me up with his friend to learn tailoring.
RETURNING TO POTISKUM
From the beginning of 2016 to date, normalcy, lasting peace and stability have returned to Potiskum town. People now live calmly, without any fear of attacks. Consequently, Shehu decided to return and continue with his life. However, he still carried the scars of the bomb blast. He returned in 2021 after he was certain that he had overcome the traumatic incident.
“I decided to return home after I was certain that I had overcome my traumatic experience and was ready to set up my tailoring shop and employ four to five apprentices. I returned in February 2021, and immediately set up a tailoring shop where I employed four apprentices”.
When he was asked about returning to school, he pointed out that he is now a highly skilled tailor.
“I don’t think I would ever go back to school, I like my job, it granted me independent and self-reliant.
Justifying his decision to quit school, he noted that the reason he abandoned school remains relevant many years later.
“Students are still not safe in schools; they are attacked and kidnapped at will, with no sign that the situation is ending. I still remember how my family struggled so hard to keep me from falling into despair and hopelessness. This is exactly what the parents of kidnapped students go through or continue to endure, if their children have not yet been rescued or released,” he explained.
Shehu contacted some of his friends and classmates in Potiskum, some of whom shared similar fate, permanently abandoned school.
Shehu believes that Western education is not the only criterion or pathway to success and prosperity.
As such, his tailoring skill is sufficient for him. He also believes that self-reliant skills offer true freedom and independence, as many salary earners struggle financially. For him, waiting on a monthly basis to receive hard-earned wages is not an option.
Surviving such brutal attacks, usually left behind deep emotional and psychological scars and struggles on survivors.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE SCHOOL
It took collaborative actions by the Yobe State Government, security agencies, vigilantes, and community leaders to rehabilitate the school and provide adequate protection for students and teachers before the school was declared reopened.
Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum, rebuilt itself academically, emotionally, and psychologically from the ashes of the 2014 incident. By 2015, the school recorded a remarkable recovery and sustained progress.
The school has achieved a remarkable reconstruction of damaged classrooms and laboratories. The hostels and the administrative block were also renovated. As a result, the school now has improved learning capacity compared to the pre-2014 period.
In 2020, at the Presidential Teachers’ and Schools Excellence Awards organized by the Ministry of Education and held at Eagle Square in Abuja, as part of the World Teacher’s Day celebration, the school was ranked 5th best public senior secondary school in the country.
In the national and international examinations, the school has regained its academic standard and is now recognized as one of the best, recording strong performances in both the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
The school’s journey now stands as a source of inspiration and resilience for students and other educational bodies across Yobe.
(Mohammed Haruna is also a member of HumAngle SCOJO Fellowship supported by the Embassy of Netherlands)
