By Ebele Orakpo

Until recently, north-east Nigeria, especially the three states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, did not know peace due to the activities of Boko Haram, an Islamist terror group which laid siege to the region.

Malnourished children at Bama IDP camp, Borno

The group began attacking security agents, civilians, schools, churches, mosques, markets, etc., after its founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed while in police custody.

At the height of the attacks, schools in the region were shut as towns and villages were sacked and, in some cases, razed. Families were separated while thousands lost their lives. Many people who escaped the attacks fled to neighbouring states, with most ending up as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in different camps.

Seeking to acquire western education in the region was akin to courting trouble. In February 2014, 59 boys  were  killed  at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe  State while 24 buildings in the school  were razed. Things came to a head when, in April 2014, the terrorists stormed a school in Chibok, Borno State, and kidnapped about 276 school girls. Their crime? Seeking to acquire western education!

According to Miss Blessing Douglas,  a graduate of International and Comparative  Politics from the American University of Nigeria  (AUN), Yola, and founder/CEO of Kintsukuroi Foundation,  a non-governmental organisation with the mandate to tackle mental health issues affecting IDPs, she started the foundation after imagining the horror IDPs went through due to Boko Haram attacks.

IDP camps were not even spared by the terrorists. For instance, the Malkohi IDP camp in Yola was attacked. In this report, Sunday Vanguard looks at the state of student IDPs in schools, the challenges and how they are coping.

Going back to school

As the Federal Government intensifies the fight against Boko Haram, the need to help children, who had experienced the horrors of terrorism lead a near normal life, became paramount. So, many were sent to schools to continue their education, especially those in secondary schools, while those whose towns and villages have been rescued from the terrorists were encouraged to go back home. However, many of them are still struggling to survive away from their homes.

Speaking to Sunday Vanguard, Douglas said Kintsukuroi Foundation recently visited some schools in Yola, Adamawa State. “At the Aliyu Mustapha College,there were 187 students in SS2. The principal said the number of students wasn’t always high. However, with the influx of IDPs into the state, government encouraged schools to lend a helping hand by accepting, empathizing and educating these children.”

The principal of the school, Mr Umar Ishaka Yusuf, told Sunday Vanguard that most of the students were able to adjust quickly. “Right now, most of them, about 75 per cent, have completed their Senior School Certificate and Junior School Certificate exams and have gone to other schools. Since last year, they have been going back to their various towns and villages especially those from Mubi, Hong and Gombi.”

Writing and drawing on walls

On the walls of some classrooms were written names of guns, names of football clubs etc. When asked about the development, the principal  said: “That is what they do, may be for fun.”

“The walls of school’s classrooms are clustered with drawings of AK47 guns. There were also writings of nicknames such as MK Don (probably referring to  Milton Keynes Dons Football Club) and E Boy. During counselling sessions with some students, we heard stories of devastating experiences. The students do the writings and drawings. There is no specification as to who in particular or when. It’s not like they plan it before doing it. It’s done randomly. The students say they put up the writings and drawings on the wall to share their experiences, fears and plight. They say they write, draw, laugh or cry about their realities and move on.”

Bitter experiences

These children can only be described as courageous. Their experiences would have made them throw in the towel and become bitter at society as the terrorists would have wanted them to do. Instead, they refused to give up.

Narrating her encounters with the students, Douglas stated: “Aliyu (not real name) said Boko Haram members took his father away and killed his brother with what he described as an AK47. He tried to run away with his pregnant mother and little sister but lost them in the midst of the chaos that took over his town. He blames himself every day because he feels he betrayed the family he should have been protecting.

“Aisha (not real name) said she lost her father to the terrorist group. Her father had sacrificed his life to save her and her mother.

“‘I don’t even like coming to school but my mother won’t let me stay back,’ Amina (not real name), another student, said. ‘My mother says I have to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself to me. She doesn’t know how people stare or point fingers at me, she has no idea how often some classmates can’t wait to scream IDP and look in my direction whenever we have visitors in our class. She doesn’t know how often I cry myself to sleep or swallow my words. She doesn’t know what the things in my head are asking me to do.’”

Stigmatisation

Apart from the horrors suffered in the hands of the terrorists, the ensuing trauma, the physical and emotional pains, these children have, in addition, to endure the stigmatisation from fellow students. Talk of double wahala for dead, body (a corpse getting involved in a ghastly motor accident!), apologies to the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. These people escaped as it were, from the lions’ den only to be attacked in their ‘safe haven’ by another lion.

Douglas added: “Amina’s encounter confirmed that the IDP students are sometimes stigmatised in school. The psychological effect of their experiences during the insurgency and the stigmatisation that comes with their current predicament is one that barely gets any form of attention.”

Our role

“The Kintsukuroi Foundation is working to create a platform to bridge the gap. Our approach to counselling/rehabilitation seeks to open doors of forgiveness, mental wellness and new beginnings,” noted Douglas.