As she spoke, she fought to remain composed. She punctuated her story with long silences, a deliberate effort to keep her tears from breaking through.
I have never been used to heat. I can hardly breathe when the heat is too much. I feel the intensity of the heat so much during the day here. It feels like my body is on fire. I feel the same way sometimes at night as well which was what led to the fainting. Sometimes the weather can be so hot it feels as though I am being squeezed into a tight place
Fatima, a nursing mother, has lived in Magaji Dawaki Primary School for five years. She is among the survivors who fled to Sabon Birni as armed insurgency and rural violence surged across northwest Nigeria. The town is located on the border with the Republic of Niger, sharing proximity with Zamfara State to its east and Kebbi State to the west.
Fatima said she walked from Garki village for days with others from Yobe, Zamfara, and Kebbi states. With no formal settlement plan at Sabon Birni, displaced families began occupying public schools, motor parks, and abandoned buildings. These spaces were never designed for habitation.
As of 2025, the presence of armed non-state groups in Sabon Birni has heightened insecurity. Residents in informal sites, including Abdulhamid Primary School, 30 Housing, Magaji Dawaki Primary School, Gidan Sardauna, and Colombia Motor Park, say they live in constant fear of attacks. Sabon Birni is now one of at least seven areas in Sokoto under frequent attack by terror groups known locally as bandits. In May 2020, over 74 people were killed in multiple attacks across the district.
Beyond the violence, survivors in the camps lack access to basic needs. Many can hardly afford a single meal per day. They live without electricity and proper health services and must trek long distances to get clean water.
We suffer a lot. The bandits chased us out of our homes and we ended up here in a very tight condition. We don’t have a conducive sleeping space. There are more than fifty people in a room. Our families are also scattered all around the camp due to limited space. My husband is in a different place, some of the kids are also in a separate place while myself and some of the kids are here,” Fatima said.
Fatima and other displaced women said they struggled to survive extreme heat so suffocating, sometimes, it felt like dying.
You can imagine how hot it is to be in such a place. Sometimes, the heat can be so unbearable it feels like dying. This place is not like home. My health is now fragile. Our living condition is bad, I have lost weight and we live in constant fear. We feel the strongest heat in the afternoon and at night. Neither of us can afford a fan,” she said.
Post a Comment