The way people treats their housemaids would make you wonder if they are human at all. Most Nigerians bear the mentality that they are doing that maid favour, hence, they treat them as if they aren’t humans.
Honestly, it is safe to say that thieves are treated better than most housemaids in Nigeria and if you think this isn’t true, check out the stories of these maids who were inhumanly treated. Some even died in the hands of their bosses.
There was an eight-year-old Miracle, in Lagos, who was beaten to death by her madam, Oby. Ridiculously, Oby was pregnant with her third child, yet she dealt mercilessly with Miracle. It was gathered that late Miracle was brought from the village alongside one Chinacherem, when she was just six years old.
When Miracle got to the house, Oby stopped her from going to school and this girl would be forced to wake up as early as 4.30 am, while Oby, and her children would still be in bed.
On that sad Saturday that Miracle was killed, neighbours said they heard the little girl’s usual cry but none could go for her help because Oby had ridiculed them in the past when they made such attempt. When Obi was asked, she denied saying that she died during a fight with Chinacherem, another maid in the house.
However, upon further interrogation, Chinamerem revealed to the Police that Oby killed her and she was forced into admitting that it was during a fight with her. Oby couldn’t escape completely because she was arrested by policemen attached to Isolo division, while she was on her way to dispose of the corpse.
There is another case of a teenager who was made to live with a family known as the Awololas after her family was evacuated by bandits. The teenage girl reported that Awolola would beat her and inflict injuries on her.
The last one she did before she was reported was that Awolola placed a hot knife in the fire and placed it on parts of her body, including her vagina. She said it was not the first as Awolola sometimes burnt parts of her body with lighter.
For this teenage girl, her father was still very much alive and when they were asked why they would allow their girl suffer that much, he recounted how this young girl fell into the hands of the Awololas.
“It all started when some gunmen, in April 2019, attacked our village, Kutura station, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, where my elder brother and his son were murdered,” .he said
To secure her life, the father said he had to send his daughter to stay with her younger sister, Esther Moses, a mother of two, who coincidentally lost her husband to gunmen in another attack in Kajuru Station in the same local government area.
Esther was also present at the court and she said amid sobs that she actually inquired about the woman before sending her niece over.
“People said she was a nice woman and that cleared our doubt about the safety of the girl. We were so happy that the girl will continue her education under the care of her master.”
These are just two tales out of many others and it is sad that these things keep happening. Regardless of who a person is, that person shouldn’t be made to face the brutality that housemaids face in the hands of their masters.
