Benin city: When insurgency and herder-farmer violence swept through Borno and Adamawa States between 2010 and 2015, it left hunger, homelessness, and hopelessness in its wake. Boko Haram’s attacks on police stations, schools, and churches forced millions to flee their homes. Over 1,400 schools were destroyed, agriculture was disrupted, and food insecurity deepened.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, more than two million people remain internally displaced across Nigeria’s North-East. A 2023 survey by the National Bureau of Statistics identified 340 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across seven northern states. Yet, 1,000 kilometres away in Edo, a quiet transformation is unfolding. At the Home for the Needy (HfN) IDP Camp in Uhogua, just 25 kilometres outside Benin City, children who once fled gunfire are now graduating as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other professions. Their journey-from tents to degrees-demonstrates how education, mentorship, and community support can turn trauma into opportunity.
Originally founded in 1992 to care for orphans and vulnerable children, the Uhogua camp became a refuge for conflict survivors from northern Nigeria after 2012. Today, it shelters over 3,000 IDPs, with thousands more living in surrounding villages. Under the leadership of Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, the camp provides shelter, healthcare, food (much of it grown on-site), and free education from primary through tertiary levels.
‘I was moved by the overwhelming spate of child neglect and insurgency,’ Folorunsho told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). ‘I only wanted to give these children a ray of hope. Seeing them graduate as doctors, lawyers, and engineers is proof that God is faithful,’ he said. Folorunsho stated that the foundation takes great care not to admit criminals or individuals of questionable character into the camp. ‘We carry out background checks using information from relatives and traditional leaders in the home states of the displaced persons,’ he explained. ‘Often, we also seek the assistance of security agencies to ensure that those we admit are genuinely displaced and not persons with dubious backgrounds.’
The camp’s achievements are noteworthy. Pastor Evelyn Omigie, one of the camp supervisors, noted that the home had produced no fewer than 85 graduates across medicine, pharmacy, law, and in other disciplines. ‘Recent years alone have seen five medical doctors, several pharmacists, dozens of accountants, and multiple lawyers,’ she said. She spoke of Amos Ishaku, a former resident of the home, who graduated from Edo State University, Uzairue, where he earned a First Class degree in Chemical Engineering in November 2023. ‘He achieved a remarkable Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.80, making him the best graduating student in the Faculty of Engineering.’
Folorunsho further told NAN that no fewer than 147 survivors in the camp recently completed the Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE). He said: ‘We were able to register 147 of our children in the just concluded NECO and NABTEB examination. 140 out of the 147 sat for the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, and they did very well as one person scored above 300 and more than 123 scored above 200.’
The coordinator also told NAN that six of the survivors were currently undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, while five were recently called to the Nigerian Bar. As a way of giving back, camp residents engage in teaching in the camp’s schools or assisting in the health clinic during holidays, reinforcing a cycle of service and sustainability.
Despite its successes, HfN continues to face major challenges: inadequate funding, food shortages, limited infrastructure, and difficulties sustaining teacher salaries. Classes are sometimes held under trees, and the camp depends heavily on private donations and volunteer support. Still, the model demonstrates that displacement doesn’t have to lead to despair. With the right support systems-education, mentorship, and community-IDPs can rebuild their lives and become agents of change.
‘Every child on the street has the potential to be a doctor, lawyer, or innovator,’ said Pastor Folorunsho. ‘If you support that child, you could be saving the world from future vices.’ From tragedy has come transformation and in the heart of Edo, a generation of displaced children are now building a future that once seemed impossible.