by Alkasim Abdulkadir

Mami isn’t just a number, in a country already suffering from tragedy fatigue from the statistics of the dead, it has become imperative for us to remind ourselves that she was here and she was human too like the rest of us.

Nigerians have come to terms with the multitude that died in the Nyaya bomb blast; however it will not be easy for the families and friends who are still finding it surreal and are wishing that this tragic incident was all a dream. However, as the days pass by the reality of the situation remains grim and forlorn that these beloved individuals will never show up again. One of such individuals was fondly called Mami, Ashe Peters was loved by everybody, and her employer Mrs. Zakari Imam described her as an exceptional human being. The Nyaya to Central area Abuja route had been her route over the years like several other thousands of civil servants and artisans who commute daily to work in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja.

To get to work in time before the day’s tasks, to beat traffic as it is called -the commuters always left their abodes early, especially Ashe who had never been late in arriving at her office as Mrs Imam’s assistant   “She was a honest hard working and wonderful person loved by all her colleagues and anyone who had the priviledge of knowing her” she averred.

However, on Monday April 14^th 2014 she left home as dutiful as always but never showed up for work, she didn’t show up because she never got there. Alas, she didn’t get there because on at exactly 6.30 am a vicious bomb explosion ripped through the Elrufai Bus Park at Nyaya, killing scores of people. Some of the dead and injured were taken to Nyaya, Asokoro General Hospitals and National Hospital. However, several more are still on the missing list, never to be seen again by their loved ones.

Mami isn’t just a number, in a country already suffering from tragedy fatigue from the statistics of the dead, it has become imperative for us to remind ourselves that she was here and she was human too like the rest of us. Ashe Peters lived with her brother in Nyaya she was in her late twenties and would have added a year more on the 21^st of April; she went missing exactly a week to her birthday.

As the days pass by, after long tortuous search for her in all the hospitals, the hope of finding Mami is deeming, her families and friends are slowly coming to terms with the fact they might never see her again. Therein lies the greatest tragedy of losing her, for Mrs. Zahra Bakari-Imam the tears have refused to stop “I went to sleep crying, woke up crying I am still crying”.

————————-

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.