By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo
THOUSANDS of residents in Ajegunle area of Ikorodu, Lagos State are still battling with flood following torrential rainfalls in the South Western part of the country. Worst hit are those living in Akute, the boundary between Ogun and Lagos states who are presently  counting their loses after being sacked from their homes by the rampaging flood. But the most pathetic are pupils in the area whose schools have been taken over by the flood, forcing them to stay at home.

From Berger Bus-stop, Lagos, one will need to climb three plank bridges to get to Akute/Esorun Community Grammar School in Ifo Local Government of Ogun State. Apart from the high fares charged by commercial motorcyclists that ply the dilapidated road, a commuter must pay N50 to climb the almost collapsed bridges to proceed on his or her trip.

*Placard-carrying pupils protesting against government’s indifference to the take-over of their school by flood

The school has been submerged for almost a month as the water from Oyan Dam overflowed its bank and ravaged the villages along the Ogun River. Many houses, including a school in Akute and Esorun communities, were not spared; they had all been swept away as pupils and residents vacated the area.

Four weeks ago, about 700 pupils of the school and their teachers were seen milling around the school premises apparently in anticipation of a drop in the water level. Some of the Senior Secondary School pupils who are preparing for the 2012 West African Senior School Examination have since resorted to studying at home as well as attending  extramural classes, while their teachers are more or less on  compulsory leave.

Irked by the development,  parents and pupils armed with placards had on  Tuesday October 25 trooped out to protest against the seeming indifference of the  relevant authorities to their plight.

They accused government of neglecting them and failing to intervene despite numerous reports by the Parents Teachers Association on the perennial flood disaster in the school.

Every morning, the teachers gather under a makeshift shed located within a mechanic workshop, waiting endlessly for government’s intervention. One of the unpleasant consequences is that some of the pupils have since been roaming the streets, while others engage in fishing.

The school’s regulations and laws are not observed anymore. Even in their uniform, the pupils cut a sad picture of hopelessness as a bleak future stares them in the face.

Their case is made worse by the fact that the parents of most of them are financially incapacitated and so cannot  sponsor them to attend good private schools elsewhere.

“We have not been doing anything for a month now. We only come around to see the intensity of the flood; to see how far it has dropped,” one of the school prefects, Adewale Peter told Vanguard Metro, VM.

Peter is in Senior Secondary School and will be writing the West Africa Secondary School Certificate soon. According to him, some of the pupils whose parents have the financial capability to enrol them in private schools have been doing so, while those who cannot have been left to lick their wounds.

Another student who simply identified herself as Jacob and believes she is is old enough to be in a higher institution,  narrated how she had defied the flood to swim to school, even when her mates refused to come.

“Our focus is different. If it is not because our teachers stopped coming, I would have continued to go to the school with the aid of a canoe. We can use canoe to ply the water but our classroom is waterlogged,” she stated.

In an emotion-laden voice, Jacob described the situation as pathetic, calling on the state government to come to the pupils’ rescue. “Our education is suffering now. I think we should be relocated because the problem occurs annually,” she said.

To a mother, Mrs. Ajoke Arowosafe, whose daughter, Peju, is due to write WASCE, the pupils suffer every year and government has not deemed it necessary to intervention to sooth their pains. “My child, Peju, has been in this school for five years.

I withdrew her from a private school to this public school because I could not cope with the school fees. But every year, Peju passes through this agony. I do not have rest again whenever the flood forces the pupils out. For now, there is nothing I can do but to beg government to help us. Our children are suffering,” Mrs Arowosafe said.

Some other parents and students also spoke in similar vein:

Adewale Iyanu, a Senior Secondary School 3 pupil

“The flood started on October 13. It began to flow gradually. At the initial stage, we thought the water was due to the downpour which occurred a day before.  But before the end of the second day, the water has risen above our waists.

“It occurred last year but it did not rise up to this level. And last year, the state government under the administration of Governor Gbenga Daniel, assured the residents of this community, including the students, that it would put an end to the flood problem affecting our school but till now, nothing has been heard of the promises.

“We are still waiting for the Ogun State government to fulfill their promise. The government should please come to our aid.

The flood has disrupted our academic programme. My friends who are in other schools are busy preparing for their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE, in National Examination Council, NECO and West African Examination Council, WAEC while we are here sleeping at home. This school was established in 2006. And we are the first set to graduate from this school. So if this continues to happen, it is a bad omen for the school.

“We are begging Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and the Action Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, to quickly address this situation so that pupils who will be graduating after us will not be affected by this problem.”

Amos Esther, a JSS 1 student

“The water has affected my education. According to my teacher, this is enough to disrupt one’s education. Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State should please come to our aid.”

Gideon Ajayi, a parent.

“We have been experiencing flash-flood in this area but the incident this year is the worst. It is a helpless situation and we need help from well- meaning Nigerians, particularly governments.”

Kudirat Avoseh, a parent.

“I have three children in this school. The state government  has failed to rehabilitate the school since 2006 when it was established.  It was only about two months to the expiration of his administration that  Governor Daniel ordered the construction of three classrooms for the pupils, and it was shabbily done.

“The Ogun River always over-flows and when it happens, it flows into the community and displaces the residents of the community.

“Thanks to the teacher who have been helping us, the parents, to ensure that the students do not lack behind in their academics.”

Mrs.Shakirat Oyebode, a parent

What we want from the state government is that they should quickly come to our aid. We are tired of this flood. For the past three weeks, the education of our children has been disrupted. And all efforts to correct all these happenings have proved abortive.