Residents of New Nyanya in Karu local government area of Nasarawa State were shocked when they realised that a pregnant mother of four with a history of alcohol abuse, abandoned her three children in an uncompleted building where she had lived with them erstwhile and eloped with her second husband. AGBO-PAUL AUGUSTINE (Abuja) reports on how the juveniles, aged 5, 9 and 12 are faring in the absence of their mother.
Life for nine year-old Queen Isaac and 12 year-old Israel Isaac has been nothing but hard and brutal as events around their lives so far can best be described as unfortunate. First, the two children can barely remember who their biological father is; they had no choice than to adopt their foster father’s name. Second, they were recently abandoned by their mother in an uncompleted building with no food, beddings or other essentials.
Cecilia Isaac, the mother of the children, a few days to the presidential election on March 28, 2015 packed her things and along with her second husband, eloped from the uncompleted house in New Nyanya in Karu local government of Nasarawa State, leaving Queen, Israel and another five year-old child behind.
“Our mummy told us that they were travelling to the village and since then we have not seen her,” Queen says in a sober tone.
“I don’t know my father but I can remember my mother used to tell me that he is from Adamawa State,” the scrawny looking Israel told LEADERSHIP Weekend.
For Queen, the closest she has com to having afather figure wose in three years ago, when her mother trasferred her to the custody of family of eastern Nigeria extraction to whom her mother transferred her custody in Abuja three years ago. Sadly, luck ran out for the little girl when she had to be returned to her mother due to fact that her adopted family got visas to travel abroad. The few years she stayed in Abuja helped to polish her spoken English.
According to neighbours, Cecilia was formerly married to her first husband in Adamawa State and had two children-Queen and Israel- however, after a bitter divorce, she moved on and married Mr Sallah Isaac, an indigene of Langtang in Plateau State. Neighbours say he is a brick layer who struggles with alcoholism.
Together, the couple had two children with a third on the way. Mr Isaac is said to have seven children with another woman, all of whom live in an uncompleted building in another area of Nyanya- Gwandara in Karu. Most of the children are said to be street urchins.
Investigations by LEADERSHIP Weekend revealed that Mr Isaac is said to have been given a contract worth about N100, 000 to construct a building but failed to execute the job. Rather, a large chunk of the money was said to have been spent by Mr Isaac on alcohol, especially the couple’s favourite locally brewed drink (brukutu), at a nearby watering hole.
Sensing an impending embarrassment from his client, Isaac chose to elope, taking along his pregnant white wife and a little baby , abandoning the three children to fend for themselves. One of the other children is his biological child while the other two are from his wife’s first husband.
Prior to their eloping neighbours said they had been complaining of the duo’s lifestyle. “All they do is to go out and come back home drunk. They shamelessly walk home late at night, not minding if their children have eaten or not,” a neighbour says.
Getting drunk every day seemes to be a way of life for the couple and sadly, their kids neither attended school nor were engaged in learning any vocation. Some residents confided in LEADERSHIP Weekend that Cecilia is sometimes seen at bars with other men drinking alcohol.
Two weeks after the couple left the kids, a Good Samaritan, Gift Ejele, who is a 38, year ord a widow mother who is also grandmother, decided to temporarily shelter nine year-old Queen in her one room apartment.
“I had to take the poor girl in because I feared she could be raped or kidnapped by evil minded people,” Ejele said.
She added that although angered by the irresponsible lifestyle of the parents of the innocent children, she could only afford to fully fend for one because she was already struggling to feed herself and her own children. Mrs Ejele sells roasted chicken at a local bar in Masaka.
For now, 12 year old Israel scavenges from bars and restaurants to survive. He told LEADERSHIP Weekend that like a roving dog, he feeds on remnants at the places he visits.
Many neighbours expressed the fear that Israel Isaac is a time bomb waiting to explode. A 12 year old living in an uncompleted building, with no one to care for him, is a criminal in waiting. Shady characters are more than likely going to attempt to cash in on the situation by using the juvenile for their vile schemes.
LEADERSHIP Weekend traced a relation of Mr Isaac in the New Nyanya area, Mr Luka James who said the Langtang community in New Nyanya is worried over the ugly development.
“We are worried about the abandonment of the children and I have tried several times to put a call to Isaac’s cell phone but it has been unsuccessful,” he said.
He added that they were all worried and utterly embarrassed by the continued drunkenness of Mr Isaac, his wife and their disappearance. “It’s not our way of life and we are also worried about the upbringing of the young children left behind,” James lamented.
In a society where social welfare is almost nonexistence, many fear the two children left behind face a break no future, unless something is done to rescue them from their present dilemma.
