The dark cloud over Regina Ayuba’s educational pursuit is sublimely withered by the magnanimity of Agwa Atyap. She is inspired to be a medical doctor by the gory images of the 27 Runjis whose bullet infested bodies bled to death without medical help. Write Bomba Dauda
15th April, 2023 mayhem that was unleashed on Runji by marauding vicious bandits is a day that Regina Ayuba, 16, SS1 student of KYCA Academy will not forget in a haste. Regina lost her father and siblings on the fateful day that bandits’ unbridled terror on the defenseless community of Runji in Zango-Kataf LGA of Kaduna State where 27 people were killed and out of that figure, 17 of them were from her family including her father, Ayuba Zango, brother, Friday Ayuba and sisters, Elizabeth and Precious Ayuba.
Their only house where she used to live with her father, mother, brother and sisters was razed down after bandits set the house ablaze.
In simple terms, Regina is now an orphan and must lurch forward being that. She and her mom are the only surviving souls in her family. She escaped being lynched by the Fulani bandits because she visited her uncle within Runji and decided to spend the night there.
Regina recounted the incident that took her father and sibling’s lives with a trembling voice and an overriding throbbing in her heart while wiping the tears that profusely drifted down her cheek.
According to her, I went to my uncle’s house and decided to spend the night in his house. As if I knew something terrible will happen to my family house.
Around 9 PM when we were watching Television at my uncle’s residence, we had a bang on the door and suddenly someone entered the room prodding us with the gun in his hand and ordered us to turn off the Television, which we hurriedly did.
We were so lucky that he didn’t hurt us. He left and didn’t come back. We cling together in fear and keep praying to God to save our lives. We later heard gunshots on the other side of the village, the shooting reverberated towards the direction of my paternal home.
When the bandits left, we all came out from our hiding places and returned to our respective homes. I was suddenly bewildered by the number of people killed, they killed my father, my brother and my sisters and our only house, too, was burnt to rubble. Here I’m today homeless and a refugee in my own village.
Regina Ayuba’s school, KYCA Academy is one of the beneficiaries of the Jumma Gambo Yahaya Foundation for orphans established by the paramount ruler of Atyap, HRH, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya. She told Gurara Accord how she is so proud of Agwa Atyap and expressed how the scholarship scheme has ignited her hope of reading medicine at the university.
The monster and fears that gripped her psyche are now reduced to a scarecrow by Agwatyap generosity towards their plight.
Agwa Atyap is God sent to all the people in Atyap land. We are so lucky to have him as our father and leader. I’m so glad with his kind gesture because my dream of becoming a medical doctor is boosted with this scholarship. Now we can face our future without fear. Before now we were gripped by fears and uncertainties.”“Yeah! I want to become a medical doctor to help people in dire need of medical assistance. When Runji was attacked, I saw people die from conditions that they would have survived if there was any sort of medical intervention,” she said.
