Excited and joy-filled pupils danced their hearts out on a Thursday morning. The day appeared specially designed by nature for their delight. The previous day had seen heavy rainstorm, accompanied by thunder and lightning. But this day, nature was kind with her sunlit. Dark cloud had receded; cream-coloured cloud scurried through the sky. A cluster of little birds perched on shrubs nearby, sometimes dancing to undulating vegetation propelled by the slight wind. “This is the special day God has made for us”, the pupils chorused as they danced rhythmically like the walk of a millipede, to the flute, trumpet and drums that lighted up the occasion.
The story of the Farm Settlement Primary School, first built in 1978 is intriguing. The authorities had conceived of a primary school to serve poor communities located in the outskirts of Ikorodu, the Lagos twin city which is now home to over two million people, many of who live in slums and shanties. The school has over 1000 pupils, showcasing the grimiest images of poverty, with several of the pupils going to school barefooted, many unable to afford lunch.
The past was significantly traumatic. Over 200 pupils clustered in one room meant for barely 40. Six pupils perched on a set of wobbly tables and chairs. Daily, the teachers scrambled to teach in the midst of the chaos.
In spite of the terrifying conditions poor children had no alternative. Enthusiasm to enroll in the school jumped into three digits all time high, no thanks to the displacement of families mostly from the North, due to Islamic insurgence and the crisis in the Maghreb region. Most see Lagos as the irresistible nectar.
For instance, one of the pupils told our correspondent that her parents were killed after a night ambush by Boko Haram in the North. She had to relocate to Lagos to meet her unemployed uncle. The best the uncle could do was to enroll her at the public school which is virtually free.
Imagine: On a Monday morning, after the school’s time keeper had slammed the bells, pupils rushed to the assembly to take instructions from cane-wielding teachers. But instead of marching to their classrooms, the pupils would first need to clear dunghills of human faces left behind by street urchins and armed gangs who derived odd glee in converting the school into a red light district as soon as the pupils closed for the day.
There were other chilling accounts. One morning, Angela, a little girl of 7, discovered a pack of strange ‘tiny slippery nylons.’ She thought the items were nice or at best looked like some children goodies.
At first she was thrilled. She took them home to show her parents. They turned out to be used condoms, left behind by hoodlums who had either raped some girls or used the place as a sex hub the previous night.
“I almost had heart attack when my child brought home some condoms with what looked like thick layers of semen,” the terrified mother said.
The school had no fence. On weekends, armed street gangs invaded the school. “They do so also on week days. They came in tens, armed with dangerous weapons”, the school’s Head teacher, Mr Adewale Olukoga told our correspondent. The classrooms were converted to parties or a sex-pool. That was not enough.
Armed gangs and dare-devil robbers used the school as hideaway. Ikorodu in recent times won the gory dishonor for relentless mayhem. In March this year, armed gangs invaded Babington Macauley Junior Seminary School in the night. They took away three young girls, Timileyin Olusa, Tofunmi Popo and Deborah Akinayo. In June, about 100 armed men invaded Ogijo, a shout from the Farm Settlement Primary school. They raped. They killed not less than 10 people as if in a hunting game. Police linked the June incidence to armed Niger Delta militants. It was worse for the school because there was no fence.
On one occasion, a pupil found AK 47 in the classroom, Mr Otunba Oduloye, the Local Government Education secretary told our correspondent. He said the parents and staff were spellbound by the terrifying discovery. “It was the first time I came close to a gun. I was told it can kill” one of the pupils who sighted the gun said. An official said at the time of the discovery, the gun was loaded. A curious child could have pulled the trigger. A pupil of the school, Nwoti Precious thought writing a poem was one way she could echo the voices from their deep, agonising valley. She wrote on the school’s strain:”Wrapped in the blanket of dead walls. Death holding forth in classrooms; bare as the sky, neither doors nor windows, nor toilets to answer nature’s call; strange faces of bad men liter floors; yet, leaders are to be made here.” The poem was titled “Come to our Rescue”.
Lagos is notably plagued by difficulty in meeting increasing upsurge in the face of lean resources and increase in migration. “The government has been building more schools, but sometimes it’s like fetching water with a spoon into a basket’, an official told our correspondent. This reflects the malaise in primary education at the national level too. Public schools are free, but governments lack the capacity to meet increasing demands of poor pupils”, the official added.
Mr Tunji Bello, the Secretary to the Lagos State Government who attended the launching of the new look Farm Settlement Primary School said the state is committed to deal with the upsurge through provision of more schools and qualified teachers adding that Lagos remains the best in terms of primary education in a country of 170 million people out of which 20 million of them live in Lagos, a city with only 3,345 square kilometer landmass, by far the smallest in the country. Mr Innocent Chukwuma, the Ford Foundation Representative for West Africa speaking at the event said his group is interested in public schools conceived to bring children from all backgrounds together to share fears and aspirations. If the children of the rich are kept in different schools and these same rich students end up ruling the country tomorrow, they won’t understand the challenges of the society. This accounts partly for the social upheavals facing the country today, he said.
The situation seems to have propelled Ford Foundation’s kind gesture. It began with the visit of Mrs Yemisi Akin Adeniyi, a staff of Ford Foundation, who had earlier highlighted the school’s plight. In the intervention, six classrooms of world standards were provided, backed with modern furniture, six toilets built with red, bullet-proof bricks and borehole. The staff rooms were also tiled while tables and chairs were provided for the teachers. A media concern, Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER) was asked to supervise the project. The project which lasted for about 9 months saw our correspondent visiting the site once in a week.
A grinning Olukoga who is the Chairman of the Head Teachers in Ikorodu said “I’m the happiest man in Ikorodu presently because people ask me how I came about the development in the school.” He said “the facelift is exceptional. Now people are anxious to enroll in the school. I can’t hide my joy.” 10 year old Senior Boy, Adbulkabir Oyekan said ‘We used to learn in the rain. We shared the school with hooligans who used to deface here. My joy knows no bound.”
The Head Girl, Makanjuola Khadija said: “Before, I was ashamed of the school. My peers laughed at me. I used to cry when I got home. It was shameful. Now, Ford Foundation has removed our shame. It’s the best thing I have seen as a child.” Ironically, another pupil, Suleiman who earlier told me at inception of the project that he detested teaching, rushed up on the launching day. He whispered: “Uncle, with the new look, I won’t mind to be a teacher.”
