Street kids tell heart-rending tales
HOSTILE environment sometimes breeds queer reactions. That was the case of Toheeb Isiaka, 14, in the ancient city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Toheeb’s father’s penchance for reining him in for indiscretions led the teenager to the streets a few years ago. According to the boy, his father was difficult to please but swift to visit his wrath on his children. So, on a particular day about three years ago, he fled from home to escape his father’s strict stance, and headed for Lagos streets.
“I ran away from my home, because my father beat my older brothers and me a lot. There is nothing we can do to satisfy our father. One day, my older brothers and I went to a party with some of our friends; the venue of the party was very far from my house. We returned home very late due to traffic gridlock caused by bad roads. Our father threatened to beat the hell out of us; I was the youngest and I was really scared. We didn’t sleep at home that night”.
Aware of the consequences of their action, Toheeb and his brothers decided not to go back home. Instead, they jumped on the available bus to Lagos, to hustle for a living on the streets of Oshodi as porters and bus conductors.
“The following morning, my older brothers decided that we should go to Lagos to save our dear lives and also to hustle for money. One of them was holding his ATM card, so we went to the nearest bank and withdrew some money. We went to the park and we boarded a bus going to Lagos.
“It was a pretty long journey, we arrived at Oshodi, after about four hours later. We didn’t have any relative in Lagos, so we started hustling like orphans. I later parted ways with my brothers when they chose to work in Mushin, a Lagos suburb, while I decided to remain in Oshodi.
While one would have expected him to be full of regrets over his misguided actions, Toheeb said he had no remorse for abandoning home for the streets. Instead, he said his father’s alleged indifference to his disappearance from home was his regrets.
“I am now a bus conductor and load carrier. That is how I survive here; I didn’t regret that I left home, but I am regretting my father’s indifference; I am very sure that he didn’t bother looking for his missing sons”.
Among Toheeb’s counterparts on the streets, is Taiwo Ajeyemi. The 20-year-old, whose romance with the neighbourhood of Agege Motor Road, Oshodi, started a few years ago, after his tailoring apprenticeship.
According to him, he said his parents who live in Mushin, could not afford the cost of purchasing the necessary tools for him, and funding his graduation ceremony.
“So, I later gathered myself together and came to Oshodi to engage in petty jobs, without my parents’ consent.
He added: “My parents got to know later, but they couldn’t stop me fromdoing what I am doing now, because they are not financially stable. They also could not stop me after I explained to them that I was trying to raise money for my graduation.”
For Sulaiman Babatunde, his life in Oshodi was one that he was least prepared for until one of his uncles, identified simply as Ahmed, visited his parents in Ilorin, Kwara State, and brought him to Lagos after lying to them(his parents) that he would help secure a good job for him.
“One Mr Ahmed, who is like an uncle to me, came to Ilorin and asked my parents to let him take me to Lagos to work. And they accepted the offer because things were not going well for them and they needed money to take care of my siblings.
“On getting to Oshodi, Mr Ahmed engaged me in some petty jobs he was doing, like carrying loads for people and shoppers at the Oshodi market and bus conducting, among others. Last year, Mr Ahmed and a friend told me they had a job at Ajah and that they would have to stay there for a few days, while I wasasked to stay back in Oshodi till they return. But since then, I have not set my eyes on them.
“The irony is that I have been in Lagos for two years now, and my parents believe that I am doing well with my uncle.
“I don’t have an apartment of my own; I sleep under the bridge, sometimes in a filling station. I do not have the means to reach my parents because I don’t have a mobile phone, neither do I have their numbers. Even my uncle, Mr Ahmed, did not leave his mobile phone number for me when he was leaving, and that is why I keep wandering around Oshodi helplessly.”
Every day, Ajayi Rasheed loiters around Agege Motor Road, Oshodi, looking for God knows what. The 17-year-old native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, whose father is late, said he fled from home in order to avoid being forced to attend a Lagos-based popular koranic school.
“I am from Abeokuta. I lost my father a few years ago but I have a mother offour and I am the last child of the family. My mother and other members of my family are the reason why I am like this. They insist I stay in Moricas (an Islamic study center) in Agege, Lagos State, but I have no intention of studying Quran and besides, I told my mother I can’t stay there anymore but she insisted I must stay to study Quran.
“And secondly, I don’t want to live in Abeokuta again; my mother later accepted my decision to relocate from Abeokuta and I was brought to Lagos to stay with my mother’s elder sister at Charity, Oshodi.
“A year after, my mother’s elder sister couldn’t tolerate me. She flared up whenever I made mistakes. One afternoon, I had an issue with her and she had to give me money to transport myself back to Abeokuta to meet my mother. I never wish to go back to Abeokuta, so I had to start roaming around, doing petty jobs I find to survive. From there I met some new friends, we all sleep anywhere we see, and I am happy I am in Lagos because I don’t just want to go back to my mother in Abeokuta to face any pressure from my family members. I have bought a mobile phone to call my mum, and I have told her that I am in Lagos and doing fine”.
While Toheeb, Sulaiman and Ajayi were forced by what seem like circumstances beyond their control arising from parental discipline andchild labour, among others, Pelumi Akinyemi, 18, was lured to the streets of Oshodi from his base in Ekiti by the proverbial greener pasture.
“My mother is no more, but my father is in Akure till date. One afternoon in Ekiti, my friend and I called Timileyhin just took a decision to come to Lagos in search of greener pasture, out of our belief that Lagos is a place where people make money in Nigeria. “We both came to Lagos on February 17, 2018, without having any relative here. We engage in dirty jobs, just to survive and we have no place of abode; we sleep under the bridge.
“My friend couldn’t cope with the harsh lifestyle and homelessness; he ran back to Akure without my consent. I feel bad because I am also tired of this situation I found myself. If anyone is willing to help me go back home, I amwilling to return home. It has been difficult saving up money from my odd jobs because I have to eat from my earnings.
He added: ”Policemen are not giving us rest of mind; the pressure from them alone have made me regret my absconding from home. I have learnt my lesson in a big way and I am hoping to go back to Akure to apologise to my beloved father. I came to Lagos to makemoney; I never knew I was taking the wrong step”.
Since Lagos has now become a home for the wanderers, we have seen many children who have left home their due to one reason or the other. Most wanderers we have in Lagos today are from Ibadan (Oyo State).
Olatunde, a youth in the Oshodi railway line, claimed he left his parents’ home when he was barely 16. He blamed it on his father saying: “My father was the main reason I left home when I was young. He was making life miserable for me; there was nothing I did to satisfy him, he just loved beating me. Sometimes, I used to wonder if he was truly my biological father, because a true father will never treat his son the way he treated me.
“Though I finished my secondary education, but I didn’t wait to have my result before I left home. I felt that the punishments I was receiving from my dad were becoming unbearable, and I ran away from home to save my dear life. I have thought of where I could go, where I can survive without my parents. I thought Lagos would be the perfect place because I also have friends who are hustling in Lagos. “Around 2004/2005, I left our home in Ibadan, Oyo State, one early morning before anyone could wake up. I picked some clothes and then I left for Lagos. I arrived in Lagos, I started squatting at Oko Mola, besides the Army Shopping Centre in Oshodi called Arena, where many wanderers like me also live. I started working with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) at Oshodi because I believe the job can easily fetch me money without any capital. I worked for many years with the NURTW as a bus conductor, though it was stressful but I have no other choice because I don’t want to steal.
“I also learned driving, and some rich men in the National Union will give me their buses to drive for certain fees per day. I visit my parents’ home during Easter and Christmas festivals to celebrate with my family. My father is now an old man; he is almost 70 years old now.”
A psychologist-cum-social worker, Mr Olayori Dawodu, said that most of the street children are products of broken marriages, adding that their presence in the streets poses great danger to the society.
“They are the end result of broken homes or marriages as there is little or no supervision of their conduct by their estranged parents and mostly from poor homes battling with poverty .Many of them cannot find their way home again and they are daily seen roaming the streets for menial jobs and indulge in hard drugs and violent crimes.
The solution to the malaise, according to Dawodu, is for government at all levels to strengthen the family institution and social security system.
“The solution to the malady lies in government’s intervention through social security initiatives that would guarantee good living and reduce poverty, the very reason why many couples cannot sustain their marriages and take care of their children.”
