Twenty-seven-year-old Amos Ishaku from Borno State, who emerged as the overall best student of the Edo State University Uzairue, has been an internally displaced person in the Home of the Needy in Benin, the Edo State capital for nine years. In the interview, he tells ADEYINKA ADEDIPE his experience in the hands of Boko Haram and his fulfilled dream
How was life with you before the insurgency?
Life was good and I was a student at Federal Science and Technical College, Lasa in Borno State. In 2012, I was in SS 2 when I had my first experience with Boko Haram. That night, they attacked about three communities, Michika, Lasa, and Bile. They started burning, looting, and shooting and even got into our school. To escape, we had to jump over the fence and run into the bush where we slept. The attack led to the closure of the school indefinitely. I can’t say whether the school is still closed now but that put a temporary halt to my education.
How were you able to get to your community after the school was closed?
After the closure, I had to leave for Poko, my own community. I encountered Boko Haram fighters and two incidents are still fresh in my memory. The first was that a community was attacked and our driver abandoned the vehicle and we all ran for our dear lives. I later learned that two people died during that incident. Secondly, they attacked, Poko, my own community, and many others in 2012. It was that attack led made us run to the mountains. We lived in caves for months thinking that the insurgency would die down but it did not. So we had no other choice but to remain in the mountains. It was difficult to leave because the Boko Haram members started mounting roadblocks. It was difficult to go to Cameroun and Gworza in Nigeria. In the night, people took the risk of crossing to Cameroun, some were lucky while others were killed. So the only option left was to cross the mountains and go to the next town.
How safe were the mountains?
They came after us after there were no more communities to attack. So I fled with others to Michika which was the town after the mountain. I was there for three months where I worked on farms and I was paid N200 per day. After the third month, Michika was attacked and I was on the move again back to the mountains. We were there for two weeks, but we were attacked again so I escaped and found my way to Mubi in Yola State where I reunited with my father in 2014.
What happened to your family members?
They all escaped but I didn’t know what had happened to them. After reuniting with my father, he told me that my mom and some of my younger ones escaped to Cameroun, while he and two others ran to Michika. After two days in Yola, he was able to talk to my mother on the phone who came to Yola with my other siblings. That was how I reunited with my mother after two years.
How did you know about the Home For The Needy in Benin and why did you decide to come?
I got to know this place, (Home For The Needy in Benin) through my primary school headmaster, Mallam Titus Kombo. He was the one who contacted my father. I met with Kombo, who told me that there was a place I could go and further my education. I had earlier told my father that I would like to further my education but he asked me if I didn’t see how we were living hence I forgot about school and focused my energy on looking for where to sleep and what to eat. It was during this period that Kombo spoke to my father and he (Konbo) brought me to Benin.
What assurance was given that made you come?
He told me that I would be able to continue my education and have a place to sleep and food to eat. I told him that the school didn’t matter but what I needed was a place to sleep. I also said I would be free from hearing gunshots and working for N200 per day on farms. That was how I got here. We did not encounter any problems on our way to Benin.
What made you decide to go back to school when you got to the Home for the Needy?
It was Pastor Solomon Folorunsho and his team who encouraged me to go back to school. I told them I was not going back to school again but they told me that I could still make it. I remember when we got there and Pastor Solomon came to welcome us, I saw a paper on the ground which had Mathematics questions on it and he asked if I could read and I said yes. He then said to me that I could go back to school. He didn’t relent as he kept putting the idea of going back to school in my head. He told me I could become what I wanted and that I just had to put my heart into it. With encouragement and the fact that the school was on the premises, I decided to go back to school.
What were classes like when you started?
We started learning under the tree because there were no classes at that time. Whenever it rained, we all had to go back inside to our hostels. There were no books to read and no books to write, it was really difficult. When I got into SS3 in 2015, that was the time I started taking my studies seriously. The pastor also enrolled us in NABTEB (National Business and Technical Examinations Board) that same year.
How was it like writing your O’Level exams?
I scored an F9 parallel in that NABTEB exam. The result was demoralising but the pastor said that we would take other O’Level exams and told us that he would never support examination malpractice. It was then I said to myself, I will do everything possible to make my papers. I took O’Level exams seven times in three years but I got more demoralising because I was studying hard and wasn’t getting the result. In 2016, I felt I had tried enough but Pastor told me to remain focused as I was not going to pay for the exams. After studying hard, I made my paper in a NECO exam I took in 2018.
How do you feel about getting admission.?
I got admitted into the Edo State University to study chemical engineering. It was a dream come true looking at where I was coming from. I resolved to do better than my O’Level and avoid carryovers so that I wouldn’t waste Pastor Folorunsho’s resources. I said since he was always making me happy, I would reciprocate by doing well in the university.
Can you describe your early days in the university?
It was a different environment, I met different people and I just had to concentrate on my studies. It was challenging. I knew where I was coming from and I didn’t bother with what others had. I just stuck to what I was given by the pastor. I didn’t socialise at all because I knew I was not on the same level as others. We drank Garri most times so reading was the only thing for me.
How challenging was your stay at the university?
Paying school fees was a challenge. Sometimes we had to write letters to the school to allow us to take our exams with the promise that we would pay our fees later. Feeding was a big issue and transport fare was a headache. But we made sure we made it to the lecture theatre. We trekked a lot and other students gave us names but I knew my target.
When did you start getting the attention of your coursemates?
My coursemates started asking me to help them with their schoolwork after the first year. I helped the best way I could. I also let them know that I can’t engage in exam malpractice. I could help before the exam but not in the exam hall. The school also did not encourage malpractice.
Did this put you at loggerhead with some of your mates?
I heard some of them saying I didn’t want to help and that no one takes the first in the university but I wasn’t bothered as I knew what I wanted.
How did they come to know your story?
A classmate said his father watched on the television that people from the IDP camp were in the school. He asked me if I was one of them and I told him I was. He felt I was too discreet but I told him we never had the chance to discuss that. I also did not have issues with cultism as I was not social. I only attended classes, went to the chapel, went home, and sometimes watched football matches. I didn’t have any peer pressure because I stayed on my own.
At what point did you know that you could graduate with a first class?
The first day I got to the school, I resolved to graduate with a first-class and decided to work hard. I was also spurred by someone’s result who had 4.50, which was a first class. My first-year result was 5.0. Though I targeted a first class, I never thought I could graduate as the overall best student until my 300 level when my cumulative score was 4.90. It was one of my senior colleagues and a lecturer who told me I could graduate as the best student, so I started working hard.
What advice do you have for others in the camp?
I know that we have challenges in the payment of school fees and feeding in school. Even those of us, who are at home also battle to feed. I will tell them to be persistent. It’s discouraging when your mates are in school and you are still held up at home and need to write a letter before you can go to school. As we speak now, over 80 students in different universities are still at home because they have not paid school fees and they are about to start writing their tests.
How do your parents feel about this feat?
They are very happy because they never thought I could go back to school not to talk of graduating as the best student.
How do you think the government and well-meaning individuals can help the centre?
First, I must thank those who believe in us and sponsored us through school. Without them, I would not have graduated. Now, I am calling on those who have helped us and those who have not helped us before to come to our aid. We need food urgently. Without food, you cannot assimilate in school and function well. We need food for the ones here, the ones who are supposed to be in school, the kids, and widows. My colleagues who are in school also need to pay school fees. I am sure we will make them happy with our performance if we get sponsors. We want to show them that with their support, we can achieve our aim and be useful to society.
What is the next step for you?
The next step for me is to get a job and get my master’s degree. If I get a scholarship I will be happy. I will also help out here, which is my home. There is no way I will move up and I will forget my home. My aim is to give back to society because if Pastor Solomon and others did not invest in me, I would not be where I am today.
