Sekinat: Muted Voices

Chapter 9 :Musings

 This life thrust upon Sekinat without warning or her permission was that of replicating misery, back breaking work for paltry returns especially with the palpable state of insecurity induced by fear of Islamic insurgents pervading their small town and region. The endemic and worsening insecurity has negatively impacted the farming sector, with a consistently poor harvest and revenue coming in for their upkeep.

However, in typical laid back small town life she relished the simple joys of being a mother, being with her children, watching them grow and blossom even amidst the unending chaos and instability visited upon them in the last few years.

The wholesome family life was more than enough consolation for the unrewarding enterprise she reasoned, not that she ever complained anyway considering several layers of misfortune which had visited her family, especially after the loss of her darling Adamu.The irreparable loss had rendered Sekinat emotionally jaded, she was immune to further hurt after all that she has been through. Most days especially after the death of her husband, she had been compelled to present a firm and constant countenance fearless, oblivious, for the sake of her children.

She was the last and only bulwark preventing their vulnerable hearts and mind from distress, and she was determined to acquit herself favourably no matter the cost of doing so. In addition to that she had promised herself that she would do everything in her power to make sure Adamu's dreams and expectations for their children which he often confided in her was going to come to fruition. This was her overlying priority and desire and all that she was concerned with as a mother and custodian of her departed husband's most earnest wish for the children he left behind.