Mr. Chris Ishe, a teacher at Kent Academy, Miango, Plateau State, lost his wife,daughter and sister-in-law to the Jos Bomb Blast on 20th of May. He told gooo/feature/man-loses-wife-daughter-sister-in-law/”>Punch his heart breaking story below:
That morning, we all woke up quite early to have morning devotion. My wife
then said she was going to visit an uncle at the old Jos Teaching
Hospital. At around 8am, I said goodbye to my family and headed for the
office. Later that day, at round 5pm, I got a call informing me about
the bomb blasts in Jos. The first thought that crossed my mind was ‘my wife
is in Jos.’ Immediately, I started dialling her number but it didn’t go
through, I also tried that of my sister-in-law, but it didn’t go
through too..
When I got to the mortuary, there were many bodies lying on the ground, I
couldn’t bear the sight so I ran out and pleaded with someone to help
me check if the bodies of my family members were there. The first
picture the man that assisted me took was that of my daughter. When he
showed me the picture, I broke down into tears. She didn’t look like the
daughter I knew. He later showed me the picture of my wife and sister-in-law, I almost lost my mind,
“The corpse of my five-month-old daughter was burnt beyond recognition. I can’t believe my baby
is gone. She was my favourite child, whenever I entered the house, she
would start screaming. Sometimes, she would not sleep till I got home from work. I still can’t believe she is gone. I don’t know if I can bear her loss, coupled with that of my wife. Sometimes, I think I’m dreaming. My wife
was my backbone and best friend. We were married for 16 years. Their
deaths have left a void in my life..I cried for hours, I knew I had to
go home to take care of my other three children, but I just couldn’t get
myself to leave the hospital, I was confused.
“I wish my wife had
not gone to the Abuja Market after leaving the hospital where her uncle
was. I heard that she said she wanted to quickly buy something at the
market. It wasn’t up to 10 minutes after she left her uncle at the
hospital that the bomb blasts occurred.My wife loved God; she was also
good at heart, very hardworking. I still cry whenever I think about the
role she had played in the family. She was a good mother and friend. I
even encourage others who feel pained about her death to be strong
because I know she is with the Lord”