Adamawa Secondary School Student Attempts Suicide After Pregnancy by Local Mechanic
A 19-year-old girl in Adamawa State has revealed her harrowing struggle for survival after being impregnated and abandoned by a roadside mechanic while she was still in secondary school. The teenager, identified as Hafisa Isa from the Sangere community in Girei Local Government Area, described how poverty and vulnerability exposed her to exploitation, leaving her to raise a six-month-old baby without any support.
Poverty and Exploitation Lead to Educational Abandonment
Hafisa explained that she was in Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) when the pregnancy occurred, forcing her to abandon her education due to discrimination, hunger, and severe emotional distress. She currently lives with her grandmother and relies on farm labor to provide for herself and her infant child, often working on other people's farms to earn money for basic necessities like food and clothing.
The high rate of domestic and gender-based violence in local communities across Adamawa State continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of young girls, many of whom already face extreme poverty and financial instability. These precarious conditions frequently leave them vulnerable to exploitation, with some young men taking advantage of their circumstances and abandoning them when pregnancies occur.
Mechanic's False Promises and Abandonment
Speaking about how she met the man responsible for her pregnancy, Hafisa identified him as Abdulkarim Alhaji, who worked at a mechanic workshop in her neighborhood. She was hawking fried groundnuts on her street when he began buying from her regularly. According to Hafisa, he later asked her to become his girlfriend, but she initially refused, citing her teenage status.
"He convinced me by promising to marry me if I agreed," Hafisa revealed, noting this occurred when she was still in SS1. "When I informed him of the pregnancy, he suggested we travel somewhere to terminate it, saying he was not ready to become a father."
Hafisa reminded him of his marriage promise, but he insisted that marriage would only be possible if she agreed to an abortion. Her refusal marked the beginning of her severe difficulties, as the man abandoned her completely and stopped responding to her calls.
Struggle for Survival and Suicide Attempt
When Hafisa approached the man's parents for assistance with food or medical bills, they told her to direct her requests to their son, leaving her without any support system. She and her grandmother now struggle daily to survive, with her baby lacking proper clothing and Hafisa finding it difficult to eat adequately and breastfeed her child.
The young mother expressed her desire to return to school but has no support to make this possible. Hafisa added that she faced significant discrimination after becoming pregnant and revealed that she once attempted suicide, describing the experience as one of profound loneliness, regret, and pain.
This case highlights the urgent need for comprehensive support systems for vulnerable young women in Nigeria, particularly those affected by poverty-driven exploitation and gender-based violence. The incident in Sangere community serves as a stark reminder of how socioeconomic factors can leave secondary school students exposed to life-altering circumstances without adequate protection or recourse.
