Henry Akubuiro, Lagos
“The story is not fiction. It is as real as real can be. It recounts a tale that most people will rather imagine than experience. It is an experience where all of the human emotions come to play. I am not the first to experience it, and sadly I will not be the last,” writes Folarin Philip Banigbe in the opening page of Abduction Chronicles, a book narrating his ordeals in the hands of kidnappers, who took him hostage two years ago in Port Harcourt.
Not every Nigerian kidnapped for ransom shares with the public what transpired during those harrowing moments, needless to say, write a book out of it. But Banigbe has told his sad story in non-fiction.
When the book was presented recently at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Nigerians from all walks of life converged to support his initiative.
Speakers after speaker told the audience how kidnapping had traumatised either their lives or those of their loved ones. But there seemed to be a consensus that government had made it possible for kidnapping business to thrive by creating room for anomalies.
Mr Babasola Feibo, while commending the author for breaking the pervading, post-kidnapping culture of silence that had, invariably, aided the growth of the business, hinted that the book was a story of hope and obedience, contrary to the reticence by most victims.
He explained further, “It is about the experiences and role of God in his survival, change of perspective and the need to help us reconsider the whole issue and thereby reconcile the whole issue.”
The father of the author, a monarch, Oba Banigbe, was a happy man. The occasion made much sense to him, because his son was eventually freed from captivity, “If he was not found, there would not have been any need to be here.”
Yinka Ogunnubi, the keynote speaker, shed light on the kidnapping ring, tracing its origin to six centuries ago when slavery was in vogue and morphing into a lucrative business. Above all, “the essence of the gathering was to drop ideas in your mind to see how we can find solution to human race,” he said.
He spelt out the economic and political dimensions to the business of kidnapping and the indifferent attitude of kidnappers to their victims. Yet the latter, he said, were traumatised, which informed the need to support them. He wanted all to look at the issue holistically in order to create a favourable environment that would deter kidnappers from seeing it as a promising business.
Lending his voice to the discussion, Dr John Dara, a Social Democratic Party presidential aspirant, enjoined Nigerians to build a humane society to foster socio-political change in the country desired. He emphasised, “If you want to deal with security, you must understand the cause of insecurity. You must understand why people rationalise crime.
Mr Toyin Ayinde, former Lagos State Commissioner for Urban and Regional Planning, was miffed that kidnappers were, rather, after hardworking Nigerians, lamenting the disregard for human lives by Nigerians. To rebuild a nation, he advised Nigerians to value human beings.
The author of Abduction Chronicles, Folarin Banigbe, was grateful to the audience for honouring him with their presence. Two years after the incident, he deemed it necessary to write the book after initial refusal to pen his sad experiences. Besides, he decided to float Abduction Platform to help victims of kidnapping.
“I learnt that there is need to help ourselves, and that is why I introduced the Abduction Platform to help the victims. I also discovered that the criminals have their own valid reasons for doing so and that most of them are victims of the society. So, there is need to have a discourse on what will make a normal being decide to pick his fellow being for money.
“We need to help the nation rediscover itself. The society has lost humanity, we don’t regard human lives anymore. From my experience, I later found out that most of the people in crime are victims of the environment that brought them out. We have to start the discussion to a point where we will have value for human life,” he said.
The book, he explained, wasn’t about the money lost, but the pains and trauma associated with the incident. In addition, “It is aimed at finding lasting solutions to abduction and other crimes committed by Nigerians against Nigerians.” The Abduction Chronicles platform, he added, “is created to help abductees tell their stories; find a supportive community; find closures and the psychological help needed to deal with the trauma.”
(Photo: Oba Banigbe and his Olori (2nd/3rd right) Mr Toyin Ayinde(m) Mr Folarin Banigbe, author (1st left) and others during the unveiling of ‘Abduction Chronicles’ and the launch of the Abduction Chronicles Platform in Lagos)