Sad, sweet tales of Borno IDPs in Edo
The story of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Borno who are now graduates at the Edo Camp is that of determination, resilience, perseverance and courage, as they defied the odds to carve a niche for themselves. Weekend Trust followed the inspiring stories of resilience and determination of these IDPs who have overcome significant challenges […]
The story of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Borno who are now graduates at the Edo Camp is that of determination, resilience, perseverance and courage, as they defied the odds to carve a niche for themselves.
Weekend Trust followed the inspiring stories of resilience and determination of these IDPs who have overcome significant challenges to achieve academic success, highlighting their diverse backgrounds and the transformative impact of the camp on their lives.
Running away from the clutches and traumatic experience of Boko Haram, none of them had a premonition of the irony of life that awaited them, especially when they found themselves at the IDP Camp in the faraway Edo State.
The Edo IDP Camp, also known as the Home for the Needy”, located in Ovia North East LGA of the state, houses about 4,000 displaced persons, of which over 90 per cent are displaced people from the North East, especially Borno State.
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The camp has primary and secondary schools for the displaced persons and the children of the host community.
The twist in the saga of some of the displaced people who relocated from the North East to Edo is that many are now university graduates in various disciplines.
The IDPs, who graduated from the university in the 2023/2024 academic session, said they never thought of acquiring university education while at an IDP camp. They said what was topmost for them then was to live peaceful lives, devoid of the sounds of explosions, the chaos, and running from one place to another to remain alive.
Weekend Trust findings revealed that some of the displaced persons at the Edo camp have graduated from various tertiary institutions in the country while about 200 are still in school.
Findings also showed that the camp has produced doctors, lawyers, accountants and pharmacists amongst others.
Some of the IDP graduates told Weekend Trust that they were running from Boko Haram insurgency to save their lives but unknown to them they were being driven by fate to fulfil their destiny.
One of the graduates at the camp, Saminu Wakili Abacha, a law graduate from the Edo State University, Uzairue, told Weekend Trust that his ambition is to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Wakili, who hails from Koghu village, Gwoza LGA of Borno State, said his village was attacked by Boko Haram in 2014.
“After the attack, we were homeless and just wondering about to find a place to lay our heads. We ran to Cameroon for safety but couldn’t attend school,” he said.
He said he was in Cameroon when, someone who knew about the IDP camp in Benin City, called and told him to leave Cameroon, adding that the man brought him to Benin City in January 2015.
“I was in SS1 before we were displaced by Boko Haram but when I got to Benin, I was demoted to JSS 2.
“I did a basic education examination and was moved to SSS I and in SSS 3, I wrote WASC and NECO and passed, though I sat for the certificate examination twice,” he said.
Wakil said it wasn’t easy for him based on his experience with Boko Haram but “I was able to overcome the fear and tension in me after I was encouraged by the camp coordinator, Pastor Folorunsho Solomon.
“Back then in secondary school at the camp in Edo, our classrooms were not enough, some of us were taking lectures under trees and when it rained, we would abandon classes and go back when it subsided.”
He recalled that while at the university, he faced the challenges of funds and feeding due to the number of displaced persons there.
“Our coordinator was responsible for our education and because of the high number of students in the universities, we struggled to pay fees, sometimes we wouldn’t get feeding money on time.”
He said as a result of that, sometimes, he would skip meals and drink garri the whole day to survive in school.
“I was determined to face all odds that came my way to complete my university education. This is because after we were displaced by insurgency, I never in my wildest dream thought I would attend higher education institution.
“We did odd jobs to get money despite the challenges because our pastor’s instruction was that we faced our studies and he would provide for us and we had to obey the instruction.
“But today, I am a lawyer and I was the best-graduating student in my department,” he said.
On his part, Alhaji Yusuf, 25, an Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said he would one day return to his community to fix the telecom infrastructure there destroyed by the Boko Haram.
Yusuf who graduated with good grades said his ordeal started in November 2014 when Boko Haram attacked his village, Gavva in Gwoza LGA and rendered them homeless.
“After the attack, I moved to a neighbouring village with my parents to start life again there and to continue schooling but, when Boko Haram wrote a letter threatening to attack our school, we were sent home indefinitely.”
He said he was homeless when he heard of the Edo IDP camp and decided to take refuge there, adding, that “The decision to leave my area was the turning point in my life.”
“When I arrived in Edo in 2016, they interviewed me and I was moved back to SSS I, though I was in SSS II before I was displaced in Borno.
“I performed well in SSS I, especially in science subjects, and there was more improvement in SSS II and SSS III,” he recalled.
He said he wrote WASC while in SSS II but failed Biology and English Language and had to enroll again in 2018 and made good grades. I also wrote JAMB and got admission into ABU.”
According to Yusuf, while in the university, he thought he wouldn’t measure up due to his low academic background amongst other coursemates who had sound primary and post-primary educational backgrounds, but “from 100 level up to 400, I scored good grades and I was the best-graduating student in the department.”
He said it was tough for him at the University and the coordinator sometimes had to write to the management pleading to allow them to write exams despite not paying tuition fees on time.
“I can still remember, there was the challenge of buying textbooks and paying school fees. In my 200 level, I missed a course in the second-semester examination due to ASUU strike.
“I left the school for the camp during the strike but when it was called off but I couldn’t get money to go back to school on time to write the examination.”
Yusuf said because of the situation, he developed a meal plan of skipping lunch till his sponsor was able to send feeding money.
“But, Pastor Solomon’s instruction was that we must face our studies no matter the hardship and that God will deliver us. So, we have to bear the hardship for a brighter future.
“So, my coming to Edo lDP camp was a decision that changed my life for the better. I am a now qualified engineer,” he enthused.
For Riskatu Ali, 25, a law graduate of Edo State University, Uzairue, also from Gawva community of Gwoza LGA, her journey to becoming a lawyer was that of the good the bad and the ugly.
“When I started, it was the fear of failure that engulfed me because I met people from different backgrounds, especially those who attended the best primary and secondary schools. However, with hard work, determination and courage, I was able to graduate amongst the best students in my department with a good CGPA.
“It wasn’t easy for me in school, there was the challenge of paying school fees on time and getting feeding money. At times, my friends in school always came to my aid till our sponsor sent us feeding money.
“I came to Edo State in 2014 with memories of Boko Haram attacks in my community in 2013. I was traumatised as some of my family members were killed in the attacks. I thought my world had come to an end.”
She said in search of peace and safety, she moved to Adamawa State from where she heard of the Edo IDP through their pastor who also made the contact for them to relocate to Benin in 2014.
She said it was difficult for her to cope at the beginning as she was always held back by her insurgency experience but “as time went on, my education started taking shape.”
“I wrote the SSS examination twice, the first time I failed some papers but on the second attempt, I cleared all my papers,” Riskatu recalled.
She said as a lawyer, she wants to be a top legal practitioner who fights for the rights of the less privileged and women.
For Dr Zachariah Timothy, 26, who studied Medicine and Surgery, his ambition is to become the best surgeon in Nigeria.
Timothy, who hails from Kughun community also in Gwoza LGA of Borno State, said he found his way to Edo State in 2015 after Boko Haram attacked his community.
“After the attack, which devastated me, my brother in Maiduguri, secured a place for me in Jos, Plateau State. It was there I was told of a pastor helping displaced persons in Edo State.”
He said she travelled to Edo in September 2015 and was admitted into JSS III. Though it was difficult coming from the North, I was successful in my WASC and NECO examinations in 2018.
Timothy said his experience in secondary school prepared him for the university.
“In secondary school, the classes were not enough hence some of us were taking lessons under trees. Also, the textbooks were not enough either. These experiences gave me the strength to withstand the rigours of university education.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to cope but after the first semester examination, I discovered that I was not a pushover.
“From 300 level to final year, it was really difficult paying school fees on time and getting feeding money but when I reflect on my Boko Haram experience, coupled with our pastor’s advice on staying in school and reading, I had to cope despite the difficulties.
He added that though there were the challenges of funds and feeding money, he graduated successfully without any carryover paper and has now become a medical doctor.
He said though he is looking for a place for housemanship, his ambition is to build a clinic in his community and in Edo State which made his dream come true.
On his part, Yakubu Yusuf, 27, who studied Pharmacy at Edo State University, Uzairue, said his success at the Edo IDP camp has dwarfed the ugly experience of the Boko Haram in Borno State.
“Coming to Edo State changed his life; my success is far above my experience with Boko Haram in Borno State where I lost hope of going to school,” he said.
Yakubu, who came to the IDP camp after secondary school, said he survived Boko Haram attacks alongside his father but lost his mother and other siblings to the insurgents.
“My father and I survived because we were at the farm when they attacked our village. After the attack, I relocated with my father to another village where I did menial jobs to sponsor myself in school till I finished secondary school,” he said.
He said coming to the displaced persons camp in Edo changed his life, as he had always worried about how he would fund his tertiary education.
“But here in Edo, the coordinator of the camp was responsible for my school fees, that was why I said coming to Edo State changed my life.
“Though my higher institution experience was that of resilience and perseverance, but it was not like secondary school where I had to do menial jobs to sponsor myself.
He said his experience at the university was not too good but he had to persevere because his sponsor made it clear that he was sending them to school to read and get good grades and not end up with odd jobs.
“So, we had to endure all the hardship because we knew he would send us feeding money; that it may only take some time. I also had good friends at the school that came to my aid when it was tough,” he said.
“There were times, I had to go to class on an empty stomach. But despite the hunger and deprivation, today I am a pharmacist and I owe everything to Pastor Solomon who, despite not knowing us from Adam, accepted, clothed and sponsored our education.
“One day, I hope to return to my community and open a pharmacy and assist the less privileged.”
Another Borno IDP, Nethan Ibrahim, 25, said after completing his law education at the Edo State University, his ambition is to become the Chief Judge of Nigeria.
Ibrahim, who hails from Arboko, Gwoza LGA of Borno State, said his experience was that of pain and joy.
“I lost my father in one of the insurgency attacks and while struggling to make ends meet, Boko Haram attacked our village again and this time we were completely displaced. My mum and my other siblings ran to Cameroon; my twin brother ran and I ran to Maiduguri.
“It was in Maiduguri that I heard of a camp in Benin where a pastor was helping displaced persons and we found our way to the camp in 2015.”
Surprisingly, he said, “We found education, food, peace and comfort because all these were elusive in Borno. We were really traumatised by the insurgency experience.”
He said he started from SSS II even though it was not easy for him, as textbooks were not enough to go round, adding that “one person would read for some hours and pass the books to another person.”
“But in the end, I passed WASC, NECO and JAMB and entered the Edo State University, Uzairue, to study Law and graduated with a CGPA of 4.32. I was the second-best graduate in my department.
“What I saw as impossible is now in my hand. I graduated with flying colours and have also finished from the Law School in Kano.
“It was challenging at the university, but I would say my success story is one marked by perseverance, determination, drive for success and God’s hand,” Ibrahim said.
Also, Peter Isaac Mazhekwatte, 27, who also studied law at the Edo State University, Uzairue, said he was moving from one community to another after their village, Pulka, was attacked in 2012.
“After the attack, I followed my aunt to Abuja to start life there. I was doing all sorts of jobs to survive and make ends meet and it was while doing that, that someone told me he was going to an IDP camp in Edo and I just packed my bag and that was how I find myself in Edo State,” he revealed.
It was initially difficult to cope in school; we were living by fate as we were not sure of what would happen next but we were surprised by the way God used Pastor Solomon to shape our future.
“From the beginning, when I started school from SSSI, I thought I wouldn’t achieve anything after Boko Haram displaced us but with determination, I came out with 2nd Class Upper.
“At the university, I developed thick skin to hunger and hardship because we were many in the university sponsored by one person (Pastor Solomon).
“So from the beginning, we all knew that we would face difficulties in the university and had to endure hunger and other challenges for a brighter future,” he said.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the home, Pastor Solomon, said over 200 IDPs are in universities while 80 have graduated.
He said five of the graduands are medical doctors who are looking for a place for their housemanship in Abuja.
Pastor Solomon, who is also the General Overseer of the International Christian Centre, located in the IDP camp, said he is fulfilled that the children who came to the camp without hope are now graduates ready to contribute to society.
He appealed to corporate organisations, international donors, as well as patriotic individuals to come to the aid of the displaced children.
He said taking care of the less privileged is his one way of contributing to the development of society and Nigeria.