Newly Rescued Chibok Girl’s Dream Is To Become A Soldier And Fight Boko Haram
By Abdulkareem Haruna
Ruth Bitrus, another abducted Chibok school girl who recently regained her freedom after seven years in captivity said her wish for the future is to become a Nigerian soldier in order to fight and kill Boko Haram terrorists.
Miss Ruth, whom the non-state actors forced into captivity alongside other 200 plus other teenage girls, is now a mother to a baby boy whom she gave birth to in a forced marriage to one of the terrorists commanders.
Ruth said she loves her little son, but has a huge score to settle with the man and the group who forced the child into her life.
Rescued three weeks ago, Miss Ruth said all she wanted now is for government of Nigeria to facilitate her dream of becoming a soldier of the Nigerian military.
“I’ve always dreamt of becoming a soldier and now that God has helped me out of captivity, I can’t wait to join the military to fight Boko Haram,” she said.
“That’s what I want to do after enrolling back in school and advancing my education.
Ruth, a first child of a family of eight kids informed The Humanitarian Times during an interview at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, where she was shown to journalists as the third abducted Chibok Schoolgirl that was rescued recently.
Ruth’s case was mentioned by the Theater Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, Major General Chris Musa, during an event where hospital equipment were donated to the Nigerian Army hospital by the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC) at Maimalari Cantonment barracks, Maiduguri, Borno state.
Her case was brought up by the Theater Commander to the notice of a federal Permanent Secretary, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, who represented the minister of humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at the event, to emphasise the extent of successes being recorded by the military in the war against insurgency.
On how she regained her freedom, Miss Bitrus disclosed that she made her escape from captivity in the middle of a night when her captors who had returned from days of attack outing were fast asleep.
Ruth said she quietly picked her son, Mohammed, strapped him on her back and crept into the bush and continued walking for about three days, avoiding open spaces and known Boko Haram camps before she finally reached where she was rescued by the Military.
“I kept on walking for three days and night, drinking water from ponds and pools and eating some wild fruits. I ensures my son does not cry by constantly breastfeeding him at every point I stopped to rest. To God’s glory I eventaully arrived Bama town on the fourth day and the soldiers there who saw us brought us down to Maiduguri,” she said
Ruth said she had always wanted to escape from Sambisa forest, but the vigilant Boko Haram terrorriats were everywhere watching the movement of everyone especially the women and girls.
“I took the chance to escape on that fateful night because the guard situation was not as strict as it used to be during the days of Shekau. So I observed that unlike in the past when the terrorists took turns to keep watch at night, they now go to sleep after midnight. So I decided to escape at about 3am when I knew that many of them were deep in slumber,” she said.
