No fewer than 20 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Internally Displaced Persons Camp, Uhorgua, Edo graduated from various tertiary institutions across the country in the 2023/2024 academic session.
The Coordinator of the camp, Solomon Folorunsho, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Abuja.
Folorunsho said the graduates studied medicine, pharmacy, law, and nursing among other disciplines. He said 18 other persons from the camp had previously graduated, with one bagging a first class. He also said there were still presently about 300 of the IDPs studying various causes in institutions of higher learning across the country.
“It just gives me hope for every child in this country and world over, that what they need is the same thing that those who have made it.
“Give them equal opportunity; you will discover that those ones you see and think can do nothing, will do-something.
“They will begin to create things; because there is an inherent talent that God has put in each person.”
According to him, it is very interesting that they have not allowed their challenges to limit their progress.
“When I interact with them, some of them tell me they have never had a lawyer in their village.
“Some say they have never had a doctor in their tribe, and that they see mothers die at childbirth and have seen all kinds of diseases.
“They want to go give back to the society. Be that lawyer that will fight for human rights, advocate for children and women, and stand for justice.
“They want to go and change the things they have seen in their environment and their intention are okay,’’ he told NAN.
One of the graduates, Dr Danjuma Yahaya, said that the journey was challenging.
“It may interest you to know that throughout my undergraduate days, I didn’t have a hard copy of my reading materials, which is forbidden for a medical student. But circumstance made it so.
“School fees payment was a huge challenge. There were times we had to write examinations but were yet to pay our school fees, so the school authorities had to drive us away from the examination,’’ he added.
On why he wants to specialise in neurosurgery, Yahaya said the brain is an amazing organ, adding that studying it would be exciting and also impactful.
“If you look at our country, you will discover that the rate of accidents and head injuries are major challenges.
“A Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) report said recently that in every one hour, there are at least four victims of road traffic crash with many of them dying from head injuries,” he stated.
NAN
