By Deborah Coker
No fewer than 4,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the IDP camp in Uhogua, near Benin, are said to have been re-united with their families.
Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, Coordinator of the camp, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday, in Abuja.
NAN reports that Folorunso on Tuesday received the Leadership Newspaper award as the “Social Impact Person of the Year 2022”
He however said there were still more than 3,000 IDPs in the camp, adding that they were those whose families were completely wiped out during insurgency and various crises in different parts of the country.
“But the population of the IDPs in our camp is not diminishing because of the crisis that escalated in different parts of the country,” he said.
He noted that it had been very challenging feeding the thousands of IDPs and even funding the education of more than 200 of them in tertiary institutions.
He explained that the motivation behind rendering and providing succour to the IDPs against all odds was because of his love for humanity.
“Another motivation is being your brothers’ keeper, joy and pleasure in seeing others out of pain, suffering and backwardness.
“We have about 200 of them in the universities now, and 14 of them are on scholarships.
“We have to be knocking on doors and talking to people to help out. We really need help, because we don’t want them to drop out of school.
“Because if such happens, our efforts would have been wasted. These children need their fees to be paid. They are brilliant children and very hopeful.
“This is the only way their future can be guaranteed,” he said.
Folorunsho said the award would however spur him to continue his good work in the lives of the IDPs.
He further said he was in Abuja to personally receive the award, so as to use it to highlight the plights of the IDPs.i
He appealed to appeal to the government, the private sector as well as individuals to come to the aid of the IDPs.
