“They Came Back, but Not with Guns” A Borno Youth Speaks Out

By Musa D. (Contributing Voice) | DOBBlog.com

I don’t know how to explain it, but something about this silence feels wrong.

I live in Gwoza, Borno State. We used to sleep to the sound of gunshots or whispers of who was kidnapped. Now, it’s different. There’s no sound. No bombs. No fire. But also… no peace.

Some of the same people who once attacked us the ones we ran from they now walk among us, wearing clean clothes, offering food to the poor, giving jobs to boys who can’t feed themselves. They’re not shouting “Allahu Akbar” anymore. They’re smiling.

But behind those smiles, I see it: the same eyes, the same hunger for power.

They came back… but not with guns. They came back with silence.

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People think Boko Haram is gone. No. They just changed tactics. Now, they give before they take. They help before they control. Some villagers say they are “good now.” But I know what fear tastes like and it still lives here.

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We are still under their rule. It just looks cleaner now.

My generation is tired. We don’t want to grow old in a world where peace is fake and forgiveness is forced. We want real freedom from violence, from fear, and from this quiet war nobody wants to talk about.

If you’re reading this and you still care about Nigeria, share our voices. Silence is not victory it’s just a warning we haven’t heard clearly yet.