Kunle Adelabu
-Ceilings collapse on nursery pupils, injure one
Is Salvation Army Primary School, along Sabo road in Ward D in Ikorodu Local Government, a school? That is the first question that will run through the mind of anyone that has the opportunity to visit the school and take a tour of the premises because all that will stare the person in the face are ugly pictures of how a school is not supposed to look like.
If the ugly environment does not look like a school, then what else can it be? An animal farm or death trap or den for criminals or market square? These are the sad realities that are physically present in Salvation Army Primary school located within the township of Ikorodu.
These are the realities that our reporters were confronted with when they visited school on Monday after an incident occurred.
Our reporter had visited the school after receiving information that ceilings in one of the dilapidated classrooms fell on pupils in nursery class and badly injured one of them on his head but the unfortunate incident quickly prompted our curious reporter to embark on surreptitious tour of the school premises when nobody was watching, to see the kind of environment innocent children and their teachers are being forced to operate in.
The incident, which occurred during school hours, threw the entire school into panic. THE IMPACT also gathered that both the pupils and their teachers are yet to get over the life threatening incident while they are also currently overwhelmed with the fear that such unfortunate incidents might still happen if nothing is urgently done to address the infrastructural deficit in the school.
A source within the school told our reporter that teachers and pupils of the school now go about their educational businesses with caution and fear because of the dilapidated state of the school buildings.
It was gathered that the school had recorded many of such ugly incidents in the past while many direct appeals and letters sent to the Ministry of Education, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), the Ikorodu Local Government and elected representatives, for interventions did not yield any positive result as the teachers still teach pupils inside the ‘death trap’ buildings called classrooms.
We also gathered that the letter of appeal written to the Lagos State’s Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS) for its intervention in the school, has equally yielded no result.
According to report, the classroom, which its ceilings collapsed on the pupils on Monday, is part of the main structure in the school which was built in 1939 and now massively defective life threatening. Part of the structure is now sinking with some windows and doors completely worn out while others are hanging precariously.
Currently, the entire roof of the main building is almost blown off with ceilings almost gone, a situation which exposes the pupils to harsh conditions when it’s sunny or during rainfall. Our reporter saw buckets being used to collect water from leaking roofs in all the classes.
Two classrooms within the block, which are in very terrible conditions, have been completely abandoned. The structure also housed the head teacher’s office and administrative office.
There are five structures within the school – the main structure which is currently defective, another similar structure behind it which is also not fit to house animals, the poorly built block of classrooms by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (facilitated by the Ikorodu-Oga Development Association in 2013) which is in bad shape and abandoned, another building behind it which its roof, windows and doors have been completely blown-off by wind and another structure built through the UBE World Bank Assisted fund in 2005 which was facilitated by Hon. Babajimi Benson, seem to be the only structure that is still good for habitation.
What hurts most about the school’s condition, is that the structure, built by Senator Ashafa, is now being used in breeding livestock by a man who erected its iron container office beside the school gate. THE IMPACT gathered that the man always unbelievably claimed that the Lagos State Government gave him permission to stay there.
To prove that he has approval to situate his office on the school land, the inscription, “Lagos State Government, Ministry of Environment (DMO/FAD), O.D,S, Ikorodu Zone”, was written on the container and has been existing there for many years.
His livestock’s faeces were seen littering the abandoned structure constructed by Senator Ashafa as well as other classes and the school environment.
Aside the section of the structure that has been turned into an abode for livestock, part of the school’s frontage is gradually turning into a market as an Hausa man who sells pepper, potato and other items, has stationed his table there permanently as well as other traders among who are cooked indomie and egg seller and a POS operator.
Also, part of the fence, which was constructed a few months ago by the Hon Wasiu Adesina led Ikorodu Local Government, to protect the school from instrusion, has collapsed.
THE IMPACT also gathered that miscreants within the axis usually converge on the school premises to smoke and do other illegal activities. Some of these miscreants also allegedly steal some of the school properties like ceilings, roof covers and iron doors.
Sources within the school and its environment also condemned the location of a scrap market close to the school. They said that those operating in the scrap market put their shanties beside the school indiscriminately and called for urgent removal of the market by the government.
When contacted, the school head teacher, Mrs Memud, declined speaking with our reporter but politely directed him to the Ikorodu Local Government, LGEA and LSUBEB.
But a source within the school, while speaking with THE IMPACT, said that the school had witnessed several unfortunate incidents due to the poor conditions of its buildings while she added that efforts had been made by the school to make the government address several challenges within the school but all were to no avail.
“It was during the school hours today (Monday) that another incident occurred when the ceilings in one of our classes fell on the pupils and injured a boy (name withheld) in the nursery class”, she said.
“I know as a matter of fact that the school had written several letters to government agencies and functionaries but we are yet to see any intervention. We live in constant fear every day because we don’t know what may happen next.
“The building in question was built in the 1930s but there has been no effort to rehabilitate it except when it was repainted.
“Structures like this which have been built before the ones constructed by the Jakande administration, have been replaced with modern structures. The only thing that is still keeping the structure intact was because it was constructed with quality materials unlike the two other buildings in the school that were constructed some years back.
“lt is a big shame that a school located within the Ikorodu Township is like this when those in the villages are better. It is an eyesore”, she added.
Another source also described the situation as terrible and called on the community to intervene.
“It is unbelievable to think that this is a school within Ikorodu city because it is not in any way a conducive learning environment for teachers and pupils.
“We are not safe at all because the entire structures in the school cannot pass any integrity test.
“The building that its ceilings fell on a pupil and another behind it are constructed when this school started but they are currently defective. The one built by Ashafa (Senator Ashafa) is no longer in use. You can see them for yourself”, he said.
“Even the one built by the UBE which still looks neat due to its recent painting, has been showing signs of what to come in few years. It was constructed with sub – standard materials”.
He said that the entire Onisigida environment where the school is located is not conducive again because of theft and illegal access to the school compound.
“This community is not protecting us at all in this school. Here is someone outside our gate, running an office and breeding his cows and rams within our school premises. His livestock usually sleep in our classes and you can see their faeces on the floor”, he said.
“We have also experienced cases of theft of school items by residents. Some guys usually come into the school after closing hours, to smoke lndian hemp in our classrooms.
“We are appealing to the entire Ikorodu community to come to our aid, especially the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, Oba Kabir Shotobi, the Odofin of Ikorodu, Chief Adewunmi Ogunsanya and the Ikorodu – Oga Development Association (IKODASS).
“We can no longer continue to act as if all is well. Nobody knows what will happen next to teachers and pupil because this building is threatening”.
THE IMPACT gathered that after the incident, the school contacted the Education Secretary, LGEA, Ikorodu Local Government, Mr Amusa, on the development.
Speaking with Hon. Sotomiwa Babatunde, the Councilor representing Ward D in the Legislative Arm of the Ikorodu Local Government, on Tuesday (today), he said that he had visited the school before his election and witnessed the condition of the school which he said needs intervention.
He said that he wasn’t aware of the incident that happened in the school on Monday and promised to get in contact with the Council Chairman, Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, and the representative of the Division on the Lagos State Universal Education Basic Board (LSUBEB), Dr Saheed Ibikunle, to see what can be done about the school.
“Thank you my brother. I was actually at the school to see what you are saying concerning the state of the school. You know that this is the second month that we resumed office and we are yet settle down but I can assure you that we are not resting over the issue.
“Finding solutions to the state of the school is still very paramount in my mind”.
When told about the Monday incident, Hon. Babatunde said that he wasn’t aware of it.
“I am not in the know of this development. I will discuss the matter with the Council Chairman today and also visit the school in that respect.
“I will also discuss with the chairman and see how we are going to address the situation in that school. I will also contact Dr Saheed Ibikunle to see what help they can offer us from LSUBEB”.
In a phone chat with the Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, he said that the council has been rehabilitating the school but that rain prevented the continuation of the rehabilitation works. He pledged that his administration would continue to work on the school to make it conducive for teachers and students.
Like the Councilor representing the Ward, the Council Chairman also said that the incident that happened in the school has not been brought to his notice.
“Work is already ongoing regarding the rehabilitation of school but work has been stopped due to the rain. It is something that we plan to continue as soon as the rain subsides, to make the school conducive for teachers and students”, Hon. Adeshina said.
“I am yet to be informed about the incident. If it is true, the Education Secretary and the School head are supposed to have written or called our attention to such, but we are yet to hear from them.
“Based on what you just told me, I will send my HoD on Education to the school to make confirmation for me”, he told our reporter.
Concerning the man that stationed a container by the school gate as office and also rears livestock within the school premises, Hon. Adeshina said that the man had said that he was given approval by the Ministry of Environment.
“The man said that he was given the approval to stay there by the Ministry of Environment, there is nothing that I can do about that”.
When told about the adverse effect of the man’s presence in the school and why it not possible for government to grant such approval, the chairman challenged our reporter to do more investigation to see if he was not granted, with the promise to send him parking if found guilty.
Attempts to reach Dr Saheed Ibikunle, the Permanent Member, Lagos State Universal Education Board (LSUBEB) and Alhaji Amusa, Education Secretary, Local Government Education Authority (LGEA), for their reactions were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, fingers are crossed as residents of Ikorodu are waiting to see how the Ikorodu Local Government and Lagos State Government would turn around the ugly condition of the Salvation Army Primary School which presently looks more like shanties than an educational institution.
