In the Media: Daily Beast Story Features Nigerian Princess and Philanthropist

Modupe Ozolua—a Nigerian princess and founder and president of Rise Above Terror, a Nigerian nonprofit that helps underprivileged Africans restore and rebuild their lives—is featured in The Daily Beast story about the Nigerian government’s planned shutdown of refugee camps for Boko Haram victims.

Ozolua works with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in northeastern Nigeria to help women and children who were driven from the homes while fleeing the terrors of Boko Haram. Now, the Nigerian government is shutting down the IDP camp in Yola, forcing its more than 1,200 occupants to leave without any guarantee of safety.

“We couldn’t believe it,” said Ozolua, On The March Media client. “They [Nigerian authorities] don’t really care where these people end up.”

The article states that most of the country’s more than 1.5 million refugees are housed in overcrowded camps across the northeast region with little or no basic amenities. The women and children sought refuge in these camps after their schools and villages were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents.

“IDPs are leaving without that [any support] because they are fed up wasting their lives away at the camps knowing there isn’t any plan from the government to help them rebuild their lives,” said Ozolua. “Regardless of how damaged their villages are, IDPs are willing to return home, live in whatever conditions they find their villages, take their chances with security and take advantage of the rainy season to start cultivating their farms so they can be self-sufficient again.”

Despite the deck being stacked against these IDPs, Ozolua has hope. “No one should write off these children,” Ozolua told The Daily Beast. “Being displaced doesn’t mean any child can’t become highly successful.”

Read the entire article here.