Bomb victim was in her final year —Sister

Blessing, elder sister of a final year student of
the College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa
State, Shekinah Ejeh, who died in the May 20
Jos bombing, speaks with TEMITAYO FAMUTIMI
What is your name?
My name is Blessing Ejeh, a Mass
Communication student of the Federal
Polytechnic, Bauchi. I lost my immediate younger
sister, Shekinah to the Jos bomb blast of May
20.
What was your sister doing at the Terminus
Market, the scene of the blast?
My sister was a final year student of the College
of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State where
she was studying Computer Science/Economics
until she was killed by the explosion. She had
just finished her teaching practice exercise and
preparing to resume her last semester in the
college.
She already had all that she needed to take to
school for the resumption of the new semester.
But some of her friends called her to help them
to get some fanciful second-hand caps which
they had seen her wear in school. So, she went
to the Terminus Market to get them as they
were far cheaper in Jos than in Nasarawa State.
How did you get to hear the news of the blast?
Shekinah left home before 2pm on that fateful
day. We were inside and we did not know what
was happening then. We were preparing to go to
church for Bible study when my younger brother
called that the bomb blast just occurred in
Terminus Market.
Immediately my mum heard about it, she started
panicking and I was in the sitting room too,
watching movies. Although she left home with
three phones, none of her lines went through as
we tried to get in touch with her. My father who
was supposed to lead the service set out to look
for her at the scene of the blast while my mother
and I reluctantly went to church.
After an unsuccessful search for her at the scene
of the blast and the hospital where the injured
were taken to, my father found her body at the
mortuary.
How did you receive the news?
A family friend came to see us in the church and
when we sighted him, we knew something very
wrong had happened to us. We started crying
even before we received the news. They finally
broke the news to us at home. The wailing was
just too much.
Did you see her body?
Yes, we saw her mangled body at the mortuary.
The burns were, however, minimal. We have
gone to bury her. We just came back from our
village in Kogi State on Saturday.
What were her lifelong ambitions and dreams?
As a young girl of 19 still growing up, she had
very lofty dreams, many of which I wouldn’t
know. But if there is one thing she was notable
for, it is her love and passion for children. She
was the children leader of our local church. She
was supposed to coordinate a children’s
programme in our church from Thursday to this
Sunday. She would have been back to school on
Monday (yesterday).
The handbill announcing the event was already
out before she lost her life in the bomb blast.
She had been preparing all this while for this but,
unfortunately, it could not hold. Now because of
her love for children, we are planning to start a
foundation in her name to reach out to orphans
and children who are less privileged in the
society.
How are your parents taking the situation?
God is in control. My parents are pastors.
Generally, we hold the view that only God is the
comforter.
Do you have any advice for the President on how
to curtail the Boko Haram insurgency?
I won’t give any advice to Jonathan. Should he
let the whole world die before doing something?
Should he just be there watching and let
everybody die. Now, it appears that security is
very tight, just give them some days, the whole
security being put in place will be relaxed. It is
not that the government cannot do something
about it. It is just that they are not just doing
the right thing. They have the money and
resources. They are just not ready at all.