It was a trip I had longed for…
I had so many expectations, including capturing first hand, images of incidents that had occurred in Southern Kaduna.
We – I and my colleague, Aisha Raji, a reporter – boarded bus from Kaduna town, all the way to Kafanchan.
I was excited, adrenaline pumping… of course, the photojournalist spirit in me wouldn’t let me be.
I was eager, ready to take shots.
Ahaaa! Kafachan!!
We were there…
But immediately we alighted from the bus, the first person I had an encounter with was, a young boy not less than 3 years old.
READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: How the southern Kaduna crisis started (photos, video)
I could feel something, not sure of it, so I moved on…
But turning back to take a second look at the boy, I got it, it was fear and…confusion.
Immediately it then dawned on me that the little boy was scared on my camera and my big black bag – a bag that contained all my gadgets.
The look on his face became very clear to me.
It said: “Who are these ones again”, “have they come to hunt us again.”
Everything now looks like a weapon ready to wreak havoc.
SOUTHERN KADUNA KILLINGS has become a narrative that investigates, tells and even critiques the crisis between farmers and herdsmen in Southern Kaduna, an area in Kaduna state, Nigeria.
Over 2000 people have been reportedly displaced while the number of lives lost is yet to be ascertained.
READ ALSO: Southern Kaduna boy hopes to use his locally produce toy gun to scare herdsmen away (photo, video)
There have also been false and unbelievable reports on social media that the level of destruction isn’t what the media has painted it to be.
A photo, they say, speaks a thousand words.
This journey is to verify pictorially the damage in the community since it’s a dangerous journey and zone no one wants to embark on.
READ ALSO: Disarm Fulani herdsmen now! Anglican primate warn federal government
Life isn’t what it used to be anymore for the people in Southern Kaduna.
Stepping foot in area as a stranger puts everyone on the edge.
Any strange noise triggers fear.
No one seems to be trusted any longer. A community that was once cheerful and full of life now a ghost town and full of ruins.
See photos from my visit to Southern Kaduna below:
Six-year old Felix lost his parents in during an attack in Southern Kaduna
Some displaced persons in Gidan Waya, Southern Kaduna
Some of the children displaced in Kafachan, Southern Kaduna
Some displaced women in Godo Godo, Southern Kaduna
Binta Tagwai lost her husband and child in an attack
Four-year old John lost a parent and sister
Liya Gudu and his family, victims of an attack in Pasacori, Southern Kaduna
ECWA church destroyed during an attack in Sabon Gari Tarfan
A man walking through a destroyed building in Tudun Wada, Southern Kaduna
Thirty-year old Victoria lost her husband and two children in an attack in Dogon Fili, Southern Kaduna
A boy looks into the sky during a visit at their destroyed home in Kagom, Southern Kaduna
A girl during a visit to their destroyed home in Kagom, Southern Kaduna
A man evacuates his house in Godo Godo, Southern Kaduna
A destroyed home in Tudun Wada, Southern Kaduna
The grave of one of the community heads in Goska, Southern Kaduna
Members of ECWA church holding a destroyed sign post
Seventy-year old Pius stands in front of his home in Goka, Kafachan
Displaced residents of Sabon Gari Tarfan hold hands during a visit to their community
A boy walks around his destroyed home with a toy gun
A boy displays some emotions while narrating the attacks in his community
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