Meet Mrs Nyako
Meet Mrs Nyako of Jimeta Remand Home where Marital
Disputes are Resolved, Children Rehabilitated
Though Mrs. Fadimatu Musa Nyako is one of the staff of Adamawa
State’s Ministry of Women Affairs, she belongs to the Social
Development Department of the Ministry. She is a worker that is not
only passionate but discharge her core responsibilities and duties
with exceptional passion and undiluted excitement, which is bereft
of sycophancy.
At the Government Remand Home Jimeta (her duty post), in Jimeta
Local Government Area of the State, Mrs Nyako, and her colleagues
have, by remanding and through counselling, helped to awesomely
rehabilitate several delinquents and minors who commit or
perpetrate crimes.
Mrs. Nyako, in a chat with PRNigeria[1], said their Remand Home
is a beehive of activity on daily basis, as many couples throng
their facility to report their marital disputes and other lingering
domestic issues.
“It is common to see men bring reports about their wives’
attitude, and vice versa. Also, we receive ‘wayward’ children and
adolescents who are been brought to our Remand Home for stealing
money or people’s properties. And then, we persuasively, and gently
talk to them. We advise them to change their bad habits for their
own good,” she said.
Based on their findings, Mrs. Nyako pointed out that a form of
separation between husband and wife, whereby the couple don’t stay
under one roof, but separately in different towns or places, is the
major cause of children inculcating bad, and naughty behaviours
from corrupt societies.
As for couple who are antagonistically estranged, workers of the
Jimeta juvenile detention centre, assiduously make attempt to
reconcile partners who insist on divorce. But if they remain
adamant and bent on separation, they are taken to the Remand Home’s
court in Adamawa for marital dissolution.
Similarly, parents who desire to see their stubborn children
reformed and properly rehabilitated, send them (their children) to
the Home after obtaining a court warrant. They are thereafter
detained for a period between two weeks to three months for proper
counselling.
Officials of the juvenile Home are occasionally deployed to IDP
camps across the State to interact with the IDPs with a view to
identify their personal challenges and proffer solutions to
them.
“In the last two months, we have taken 18 teenagers who were
convicted for various crimes such as stealing, into our custody.
And by the time their cases are due for hearing, they are taken to
the court.
“But if they are able to pay back the money or pay for the items
they stole, they are instantly released. Sometimes, we the workers
even tax ourselves to contribute money to pay for the money or
other items stolen by the minors we remand, so that they can be
released.
“Likewise, we also receive teenage girls whose boyfriends and
men abandoned them after getting them impregnated. In one month, we
get at least five cases of unwanted teenage pregnancy. While we
look after the health of the pregnant-girls, we ensure that the men
who are responsible for the pregnancies are compelled to marry them
after they successfully deliver. But in the event that they cannot
do that, we ask them to always provide monthly upkeep for the young
‘mothers’ and their babies,” she said.
The rehabilitation therapist, said even though the State
Government provides them with feeding allowance for inmates, they
too (staff of the Home) regularly donate their money for the smooth
running of the centre.
She added that they also partake in home-visit to monitor the
implementation of their counsels, and also see how children who are
been bullied or physically molested by their parents, family member
and other persons are doing after counselling.
“Though, we don’t handle children or adolescence who engage in
drugs and substances’ abuse, or youth restiveness. But if we
discover that any delinquent or minor brought to us abuse drugs and
engage in thuggery, what we do is to counsel them on the dangers of
what they are doing. We urge them to shun hooliganism, smoking,
drug abuse and drinking. The fact is, most of the teenagers who
engage in stealing are those who are steeped into drug abuse
activities,” she stated.
On the achievements recorded by their humanitarian activities,
the soft-spoken Adamawa-born lady, said they are always delighted
seeing couples heeding their advice, adding that “we have resolved
about 50 domestic problems among married men and women since the
beginning of this year.”
She explained that their interventions have severally resolved
marital feuds and help to restore peace, stability and love among
numerous couples. She added: “When abandoned babies are discovered,
we are promptly called upon. We take them to our remand home and
give them parental care and show them motherly love. By the time
the children are two years old and above, we give them out to
parents who wish to adopt them as their children.”
Hajiya Nyako, however lamented that financial constraint has
hindered them from carrying out several activities at the Home,
just as it has also affected them from providing quality welfare
for arrested teenagers and orphaned children.
“Again, some men we invite to come talk to us concerning issues
affecting their children or spouses often tend to intimidate us.
Whenever they appear and see that we are women, they disrespect us.
Some of them even quarrel and try to fight us. They will only
cooperate with us by the time they notice we want to invite the
Police or any other law enforcement officers,’ she noted.
Responding to PRNigeria[2]’s inquiry as to whether
they empower the young but able-bodied teenagers they detain, the
rehabilitation expert, said their detention Home currently lacks
the capacity to train inmates on requisite vocational skills.
“Before I was deployed here, there use to be sewing machines,
and other equipment for learning tailoring, beads’ making, soap
production and several others things. But they are no more.
Nevertheless, there is need for government to provide machines for
training the inmates on lucrative vocational skills and artisanal
trades. They should be empowered so as to dissuade them from
stealing and committing other crimes after they are released.
“Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other spirited bodies
who have been helping us should not relent. They should continue to
provide us with necessary aids, financial grants and vital relief
materials. They should directly bring it to us first, rather than
taking their donated items to the Ministry. But even more important
is that they should monitor the delivery processes of items they
donate. This will prevent corrupt officials from diverting them,”
she appealed.
Mrs. Nyako, who expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah, said she
is ‘extremely’ fulfilled serving humanity, by generously offering
both her financial resources and moral support to young persons and
children who desperately need them.
She advised couples to be patient, show understanding and
tolerate one another, adding that they should also be willing to
endure and live together because of their children, rather than
opting for the divorce option.
Her words: “Whenever parents separate or choose to divorce, they
are endangering the lives of their children, to a very large
extent. Among other things, it will affect their children’s
upbringing, adequate welfare and induced the absence of parental
love and guidance for children. Therefore, they should be open,
sincere and faithful to each other. They should politely
communicate their feelings and reservations to each other in order
to resolve their disputes amicably.”