The Deradicalised (1): One Man’s Journey From Almajiri To Jihadist And Then IDP

[THREAD]

Bye, Boko Haram

“We started hearing about the Safe Corridor programme over the radio and they also threw flyers in the bush, which contained messages about it in English, Kanuri, Arabic, and Hausa,” narrates Usman.
Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters had launched Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), a multisectoral programme, in 2015 and kickstarted it a year later. Its aim was to “rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram militants and reintegrate them back into their respective communities as ..
productive law-abiding citizens”.

Despite widespread criticism from those who consider the programme premature or a misplacement of priorities, it has since gone on to graduate about 2,000 former Boko Haram members.
Usman had started regretting leaving the city for Boko Haram’s Daulat especially as his economic fortunes took a downturn. The routes outside the group’s territory were not easily accessible and, in his words, “things by then were not moving well”.
But it was not just the lack of money and space to move freely that bothered him. He also found the wanton carnage upsetting. “If they found you selling things, they would slaughter you. And when we went to war, we killed everybody except children. We began to tell ourselves ..
that Allah would not forgive us if we ended up like this,” he says.

At first, he left Sambisa for Minimawo, a community in Cameroon. Then he discussed his plan to desert with each of his three wives. Two were glad to escape with him.
The third called him crazy and said she would rather go to Nigeria as a suicide bomber. Fearing she might snitch, he lied that he was only testing her faith. He later sneaked out with the other two wives and together they travelled to Bankiㅡsometime in 2018.
Hello, Safe Corridor

Usman had barely been in Banki for a week when an operative of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) accused him of being a member of Boko Haram and reported him to the military.
When the soldiers questioned him, he replied that he surrendered voluntarily and claimed he was only a Qur’an school teacher to the women back in Sambisa.

Special report, read here:

https://t.co/QCnbdXa2YJ

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शमशान में जब महर्षि दधीचि के मांसपिंड का दाह संस्कार हो रहा था तो उनकी पत्नी अपने पति का वियोग सहन नहीं कर पायी और पास में ही स्थित विशाल पीपल वृक्ष के कोटर में अपने तीन वर्ष के बालक को रख के स्वयं चिता पे बैठ कर सती हो गयी ।इस प्रकार ऋषी दधीचि और उनकी पत्नी की मुक्ति हो गयी।


परन्तु पीपल के कोटर में रखा बालक भूख प्यास से तड़पने लगा। जब कुछ नहीं मिला तो वो कोटर में पड़े पीपल के गोदों (फल) को खाकर बड़ा होने लगा। कालान्तर में पीपल के फलों और पत्तों को खाकर बालक का जीवन किसी प्रकार सुरक्षित रहा।

एक दिन देवर्षि नारद वहां से गुजर रहे थे ।नारद ने पीपल के कोटर में बालक को देख कर उसका परिचय मांगा -
नारद बोले - बालक तुम कौन हो?
बालक - यही तो मैं भी जानना चहता हूँ ।
नारद - तुम्हारे जनक कौन हैं?
बालक - यही तो मैं भी जानना चाहता हूँ ।

तब नारद ने आँखें बन्द कर ध्यान लगाया ।


तत्पश्चात आश्चर्यचकित हो कर बालक को बताया कि 'हे बालक! तुम महान दानी महर्षि दधीचि के पुत्र हो । तुम्हारे पिता की अस्थियों का वज्रास्त्र बनाकर ही देवताओं ने असुरों पर विजय पायी थी।तुम्हारे पिता की मृत्यु मात्र 31 वर्ष की वय में ही हो गयी थी'।

बालक - मेरे पिता की अकाल मृत्यु का क्या कारण था?
नारद - तुम्हारे पिता पर शनिदेव की महादशा थी।
बालक - मेरे उपर आयी विपत्ति का कारण क्या था?
नारद - शनिदेव की महादशा।
इतना बताकर देवर्षि नारद ने पीपल के पत्तों और गोदों को खाकर बड़े हुए उस बालक का नाम पिप्पलाद रखा और उसे दीक्षित किया।