A 81-year-old primary school is located at Oke-Iroko, Ikirun Osun State, just a few kilometers from the Palace of Akirun of Ikirun, which is locked down because of an ongoing familial dispute that has paralyzed traditional and cultural activities in the town.
This reporter noticed a sign post at the entrance that stated, “Baptist Day Primary School, P.O. Box 30, Oke-Iroko, Ikirun, Osun State,” as soon as he got off his motorcycle. The school was established in 1942.
A defective borehole was built next to the signpost by Hon. Sanusi Lawal, who served as the executive secretary of the Ifelodun Local Government from 2011 to 2015. It had been abandoned and was already overgrown by bushes.
Only one week was the borehole operational. We could not pump water for very long, so the hole was not recharged. According to a 26-year-old man named Wasiu Adegoke, it grew worse over time, at which point the pumping equipment was stolen.
This reporter noticed groups of structures that were obviously in poor condition. While the other two buildings were in a terrible and awful state, two buildings that had comparatively little infrastructural damage were padlocked and likely in use.
The school had already abandoned two buildings due to their extreme state of degradation, the reporter found as he circumnavigated the school. There were tons of sands and granites, as well as many cement bricks. A developing foundation-level construction next to one of the padlocked buildings is thought to be a block of classrooms.
Hon. Adegoke Hassan Olusola, who served as a chief whip at the Osun State House of Assembly from 2003 to 2007 built one of the buildings whose doors and windows were shut. On July 4, 2005, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola commissioned the block of three classrooms building.
Since 2005, the school has been ignored by the government, according to Adebayo Ojo, a local citizen. A fairly dejected Adebajo bemoaned the lack of new structures, the neglect of the existing ones, and the abandonment of those in need of repair or rehabilitation.
This reporter approached one of the buildings that was locked and saw that it had broken ceilings, cracked walls, and broken flooring. A peep through tiny gaps in the windows revealed that each classroom has a problem, despite the fact that this reporter was unable to freely access the degradation of these locked buildings.
From the cracked ceiling to the few chairs and tables to the crumbling flooring, among other things. It was a complete eyesore.
A building housing three pit latrines—a UBE/SUBEB 2015 project surrounded by rubbish and bushes—can be found in addition to classroom blocks in ruins.
It was clear that there was no policy against open defecation at the school because faeces were all over the floor from the main entrance and each room was a true reflection of a dumping site created by faeces.
According to another resident, there may not have been enough water available. There is one building that is almost completely demolished and two closed buildings in a line that are still in use.
Additionally, the region contains a cemetery where the deceased are laid to rest. When this reporter visited the school, a locked facility was right in front of a cemetery filled with graves of various designs. This reporter noticed that the cemetery is expanding towards one of the blocks of classrooms.
This reporter proceeded cautiously around the abandoned buildings out of concern for potentially hazardous reptiles and was astonished to discover the classrooms in such awful condition.
Small children attend this elementary school where the ceilings are collapsed and the buildings are left in disrepair so that deadly reptiles like snakes can live there. How do they plan to treat the kids if they get snake bites? As the reporter left the vacant building, Tayo Jacob, who had followed him to the scene, questioned.
This reporter glanced into these abandoned facilities and saw the broken seats, used papers, and nylons. These derelict buildings were probably utilized by students as trash dumps. These abandoned buildings can serve as hiding places for certain kids.
These derelict buildings have allegedly been there for more than seven years, according to a local. He continued, “We just hope they would think of us and assist us in fixing this school.”