Abandoned slum dwellers fight for education
Author(s): Patience Ogbo
Nigeria, one of the countries which adopted the UN Millennium
Development Goals, will continue to produce illiterate citizens as the
government has neglected the education of its teeming poor; experts
have predicted.
The MDGs, which aim at providing universal primary education, remain a
mirage for many poor and deprived children in Nigeria. Nowhere is this
neglect more evident than among the children of slum dwellers.
The Otto-Ilogbo Extension in Lagos Mainland, one of the over forty slums in Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, has no single government school for its population of about 15,000 residents.
Efforts by the community leaders to get the state government to build a school have not yielded any result, said Agbodimu Musbau, the Chairman of the Community Development Association.
Taking its fate into its own hands, the community initiated the Otto-Ilogbo Model Education scheme; and in collaboration with other nongovernmental organisations, including the UN Partners on MDGs, International Youth Council, the Akiode Foundation and the CARE TRUST, on May 4, 2013, organised a one day enlightenment campaign to sensitise parents and guardians on the need to educate their children.
The community is filthy, with wooden structures on piles of refuse serving as houses. The residents, despite the excruciating circumstance, seem happy and carefree.
The education awareness campaign recorded a massive turn out as most residents turned up with their children to attend a makeshift school built with wood.
Mr Musbau, the funder of the school, said he took the step to check poverty and possible outbreak of crimes in the community as more of the youth were becoming idle and restless.
However, his school can only accommodate 50 pupils in the beginner class despite the over 3000 children in the community.
“The current Education Assistance Scheme came to light with the contributory input of six NGOs coming together to build a wooden classroom and equipping it for the children,” he said. “The scheme also foots the salary of the teachers and equipping the computer laboratory. So far, the school has enrolled fifty children in its-pre-school programmes, and same number in after school learning. We also have a computer appreciation programme, for adults among other health awareness programme for the residents by one of the partners, the Stars Clinic.
As a social crusader, my interest in this scheme was as result of an injustice I suffered in 2011 when I took sole charge of a young boy, Ayodele Olaniyi, whose mother disappeared after his father died. When I got a doctor to look after him, I was accused and detained at the police station for child trafficking. I was released three days later and ever since I resolved to help those children in similar condition. An educated mind is an enlightened mind. A person that is educated would not become a tool in the hands of criminal gangs and dubious politicians who use them as thugs.
We set up the school because we don’t want our community to become a breeding ground for future criminals and societal nuisance. We want our children to be able to compete with children living in Ajah, Lekki and other big communities in Nigeria. Their place of birth should not determine their future as we want them to grow up to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and meaningful citizens in the country. This school will help curb future criminals and society would be better for it.”
Olakunle Sanni, the Founder of Child Advocacy On Right and Education Trust (CARE TRUST), said that educating deprived children is in line with the MDG goal that targets getting 60% of Nigeria children into schools.
“This is necessary as, according UNESCO in 2002, Nigeria had about 10 million out of school children and most of these children live in deprived communities the slums and in the northern part of the country,” he said. “Our aim is to identify these communities one at a time, and with SUBEB and the Ministry of Education, we carry out enlightenment campaigns for parents and guardians so they can bring the children to school and get them enrolled. We are also working on volunteer teachers so as to improve the students –teachers ratio.”
Mr Sanni added that government need not chase slum dwellers away in the guise of building a mega city. He therefore urged the government to provide basic amenities in the slum to make live enjoyable for the residents.
“The slum is the best place for government to identify the poor and deprived citizens, and if they are serious about alleviating poverty, then they already have a pool of those to help,” he said. “Chasing them away is not the solution as these people would not go back to their villages but would rather fall victims to criminal gangs.
The government should learn from Brazil, how the government there did not demolish shanties or send the slum dwellers away but rebuilt the slum communities and provided basic amenities. If there is anybody that is failing in its responsibility, it is the government as the government is expected to provide at least 250 housing units every year but they have not done that. Let the government live up to its expectation and provide for the poor instead of compounding their problems with constant threat of demolition of their abode.”
A parent of one of the new students, Caroline Egan, said she was delighted to have her 7 year old son enroled in a school for the first time. “We have been asked to pay N200; I am grateful to them as I can afford this amount,” she said.
John Nwosu, another parent, urged the government to assit the school. “This is a good community project and my daughter is one of the pupils that have benefited,” he said. “Government should assist by paying the teachers and also providing a good classroom.”
The Otto-Ilogbo Extension in Lagos Mainland, one of the over forty slums in Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, has no single government school for its population of about 15,000 residents.
Efforts by the community leaders to get the state government to build a school have not yielded any result, said Agbodimu Musbau, the Chairman of the Community Development Association.
Taking its fate into its own hands, the community initiated the Otto-Ilogbo Model Education scheme; and in collaboration with other nongovernmental organisations, including the UN Partners on MDGs, International Youth Council, the Akiode Foundation and the CARE TRUST, on May 4, 2013, organised a one day enlightenment campaign to sensitise parents and guardians on the need to educate their children.
The community is filthy, with wooden structures on piles of refuse serving as houses. The residents, despite the excruciating circumstance, seem happy and carefree.
The education awareness campaign recorded a massive turn out as most residents turned up with their children to attend a makeshift school built with wood.
Mr Musbau, the funder of the school, said he took the step to check poverty and possible outbreak of crimes in the community as more of the youth were becoming idle and restless.
However, his school can only accommodate 50 pupils in the beginner class despite the over 3000 children in the community.
“The current Education Assistance Scheme came to light with the contributory input of six NGOs coming together to build a wooden classroom and equipping it for the children,” he said. “The scheme also foots the salary of the teachers and equipping the computer laboratory. So far, the school has enrolled fifty children in its-pre-school programmes, and same number in after school learning. We also have a computer appreciation programme, for adults among other health awareness programme for the residents by one of the partners, the Stars Clinic.
As a social crusader, my interest in this scheme was as result of an injustice I suffered in 2011 when I took sole charge of a young boy, Ayodele Olaniyi, whose mother disappeared after his father died. When I got a doctor to look after him, I was accused and detained at the police station for child trafficking. I was released three days later and ever since I resolved to help those children in similar condition. An educated mind is an enlightened mind. A person that is educated would not become a tool in the hands of criminal gangs and dubious politicians who use them as thugs.
We set up the school because we don’t want our community to become a breeding ground for future criminals and societal nuisance. We want our children to be able to compete with children living in Ajah, Lekki and other big communities in Nigeria. Their place of birth should not determine their future as we want them to grow up to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and meaningful citizens in the country. This school will help curb future criminals and society would be better for it.”
Olakunle Sanni, the Founder of Child Advocacy On Right and Education Trust (CARE TRUST), said that educating deprived children is in line with the MDG goal that targets getting 60% of Nigeria children into schools.
“This is necessary as, according UNESCO in 2002, Nigeria had about 10 million out of school children and most of these children live in deprived communities the slums and in the northern part of the country,” he said. “Our aim is to identify these communities one at a time, and with SUBEB and the Ministry of Education, we carry out enlightenment campaigns for parents and guardians so they can bring the children to school and get them enrolled. We are also working on volunteer teachers so as to improve the students –teachers ratio.”
Mr Sanni added that government need not chase slum dwellers away in the guise of building a mega city. He therefore urged the government to provide basic amenities in the slum to make live enjoyable for the residents.
“The slum is the best place for government to identify the poor and deprived citizens, and if they are serious about alleviating poverty, then they already have a pool of those to help,” he said. “Chasing them away is not the solution as these people would not go back to their villages but would rather fall victims to criminal gangs.
The government should learn from Brazil, how the government there did not demolish shanties or send the slum dwellers away but rebuilt the slum communities and provided basic amenities. If there is anybody that is failing in its responsibility, it is the government as the government is expected to provide at least 250 housing units every year but they have not done that. Let the government live up to its expectation and provide for the poor instead of compounding their problems with constant threat of demolition of their abode.”
A parent of one of the new students, Caroline Egan, said she was delighted to have her 7 year old son enroled in a school for the first time. “We have been asked to pay N200; I am grateful to them as I can afford this amount,” she said.
John Nwosu, another parent, urged the government to assit the school. “This is a good community project and my daughter is one of the pupils that have benefited,” he said. “Government should assist by paying the teachers and also providing a good classroom.”
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