Mrs Rachel Hassan, a Midwife and mother, has died in August 2024 after over a decade of battling trauma that emanated from the 2011 post-election violence.
Aisha Garba, a daughter to the deceased said her mother has survived the violence but not without the painful experience that she lived with for the rest of her life.
She told WikkiTimes that in April 2011, a post-election violence broke out in Mubi, Adamawa State North Eastern Nigeria where they lived and thrived.
According to her, the clash was initially triggered by the widespread dissatisfaction with the election results where the then opposition Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari who was widely supported in the North lost the election to President Goodluck Jonathan who earlier took over following the death of President Umar Musa Yar’dua.
The violence which began as a protest rapidly escalated into targeted attacks against minorities and non-indigenes who were perceived as supporters of Goodluck Jonathan leading to significant property damage in Mubi.
Aisha recalled that lives were also lost including that of Mrs Rachel Hassan who was struggling to make ends meet at that time.
She confirmed that her mother died in August 2024 after developing a heart disease that followed her bitter experience in Mubi.
Aisha narrated “my mother had always lived in Mubi. I was born there and all my other siblings but unfortunately, we had to flee after my mother’s clinic where she practiced as a midwifery was burned down along with the house we lived in.
Sha said the incident happened on the 18th of April when she and her siblings had just returned from school and noise erupted.
“We were scared and didn’t know whether to run out or stay inside. Everywhere was burning, the smoke was stinging our eyes even though we stayed inside. My mother came running in after sometimes with bleeding hands and feet. She hurriedly told us to start packing but unfortunately, we had to flee empty because our home was already set on fire. We ran to one of my mother’s friend’s houses and she helped us flee to Yola, the following day.
“We traveled to Kwara state three days after the incident and we would have been homeless if not for my mother’s sister. I would often watch my mother cry herself to sleep every night after the incident. She would always lament that the incident had ruined her life because she now had to rely on her family for everything.
Mrs Alash Rabiat, a neighbor and friend to the late Mrs Racheal said “My friend’s life was so pitiful. She died after losing everything with no compensation whatsoever from the government.”
The aggrieved daughter added that her mother had died struggling to feed the family as a price for being an innocent victim in a post-election violence.
