FOR the first time since the unfortunate incident of the Boko Haram attack on St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, in Niger State, which happened last year's Christmas day which led to the death of over 43 people and the destruction of properties destroyed, the premises of the church wore a new look last Wednesday, as it played hosts to many Nigerians and foreigners during the mass burial of the blast victims.

Though the church's roofing sheets still remained perforated while the building was neither painted nor reconstructed, some of the damaged items that littered the environment had all been removed by its leadership apparently to demonstrate that the mourning period was over and that life must continue with renewed vigour, prayers and vigilance on the parts of all concerned.

Before the funeral mass and final burial of those who were murdered within the church's premises, the debris, damaged cars and other heaps of personal effects of the affected church members which had been gathered within the church's premises were all removed with the vie to restore the aesthetic beauty of the church, coupled with its serene environment for which it was noted before the unprovoked bomb attack.

And as Tribune Church made an inventory of the heap of personal effects, the stark reality of the situation was that some of the owners of these items may have since been killed or maimed for life and as such may never have the opportunity of coming forward to lay claim to them.

Some tipper loads of white sands, gravels were used to fill some of the dark spots while the remaining items were mixed with bags of cement to carry out some repairs as well as the preparation of the graveyards so that this place could have a semblance of what it used to look like before the attacks.

Some of those who lived to tell the story told Tribune Church of their experiences while the mass burial was going. They however hold that what occurred should be taken as God-ordained. According to Alex Aiyemola, a 40 year-old survivor and a civil servant from Kogi State, “Despite this harrowing experience, I did not regret coming early for the first service , rather I will continue to serve my God and I will not relent in serving Him. I have since left everything to God and I think my unpleasant experience with the Boko Haram was the Lord's doing.”

The story of Mrs Kate Ehiawaguan sounded more pathetic as she lost her son. “The most unfortunate thing about the death of the boy was that I lost his father to an untimely death. My late son had been playing dual roles both as a child and breadwinner since he grew up into adulthood.

Now that he is dead, I do not know where to start from.

“He used to push a cart at Madalla here for us to feed; we also hawked garri flour here in the town for us to feed ourselves from the proceeds, he also cooked eggs for sale all over the town on the road sides for us to feed because he was very small when his father died.

“Let everybody help me in praying for his soul and that he should find eternal rest with the Lord Jesus Christ.  What my son said to me about dying in active service in the Lord's vineyard, he died by it, but I did not have the premonition that he would die so soon,” she stated.

23-year-old Gift Nwachukwu and her one-year-old baby girl were slightly affected, though they survived the attack. While speaking with Tribune Church at the mass burial, she argued that it was God who had helped in preserving her life and that of her child.

According to her, “After the blast, the only thing that I noticed was that my baby was crying but I could not see the road again. The first commercial motorcyclist that I stopped said he could not help me; thereafter a man came out to stop another rider for me who took us to St. Lucas hospital at Madalla. When I got to the hospital, I saw a nurse and I asked her to help me because my baby was dying and that the child was already weak after she had lost so much blood as a result of the bomb blast.

“The doctor who treated us did not collect anything from us because he said he was a Christian, but the church has not done anything for me and my baby since the incident happened. I still have reasons to thank God for saving my life and that of my baby because even if I had stayed at home that fateful Christmas morning, there was no way I could have prevented any evil from happening. If anything had wanted to happen to me, even if I had stayed at home, it could still have happened.”