Benita initially followed her parents’ wishes and attended college to study international law and diplomacy. Her father gave her a smartphone to stay connected while she was away from home. His gift would inspire Benita to choose a different path, though, as she experimented with the Nokia C7 camera, taking photos of her friends, travels, and daily life. “I knew exactly why I had to capture the moment,” she says. Through the lens of her camera-phone, Benita saw a whole world of purpose, and pursuing a photography career began to take focus.
Benita’s big break came when she landed a job with the creative agency DisruptDNA. As the only female photographer on a team of eight, she documented people’s lives all around Nigeria for Diamond Bank. Over 46 days, the team visited 28 cities in 18 different states. This trip shaped the way Benita interacted with her art and showed her how photography could be a vehicle for social change.