The Minawao refugee camp, located in Cameroon, is home to more than 60,000 refugees escaping violence from Nigeria. Photo by United Nations OCHA/Flickr.

In the arid crossroads where Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, and Niger meet—the Lake Chad Basin—the guns have largely fallen silent. The Boko Haram insurgency began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 and soon spread into neighbouring states, entangling the entire region in cycles of violence. At its peak in the mid-2010s, the conflict displaced millions, claimed tens of thousands of lives, and hollowed out the social and economic fabric of countless villages. Today, the group is weakened and fragmented, but its legacy endures. What remains is not simply the silence after war, but the long, uneven struggle to mend communities and restore trust.

Boko Haram’s violent campaign has lost momentum, yet the promise of peace remains fragile, elusive, and incomplete. Former fighters are not returning through formal demobilization programs; instead, they come back into their communities informally, without oversight or official support.

Meanwhile, communities that endured years of violence are left to absorb this return. Their dignity, sense of justice, and trust are fraying. The harm doesn’t end when the fighting stops—it simply changes form.

Canada is a significant donor in the region, funding programs aimed at

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