‎Lagos Govt Knew About Odokekere School’s Condition Before Collapse

‎Lagos Govt Knew About Odokekere School’s Condition Before Collapse – Residents
‎Community leaders explained that the school was originally established through self-help efforts
‎Dismissed rumours circulating on social media that between 10 and 20 students died in the collapse

‎Residents and community leaders of Odokekere in Ikorodu Local Council Area of Lagos State have criticised the state government for expressing shock over the collapse of a classroom block at Odokekere Community High School during lessons on Thursday, insisting that authorities were long aware of the poor condition of the school.

Contents

EDITOR’S PICK
FURTHER READING

‎Eko Hot Blog reports that the community said several appeals had been made to the government over the years regarding the dilapidated state of the classrooms, but no decisive action was taken before the incident.

EDITOR’S PICK

‎When journalists visited the school, it was observed that the collapsed section was a makeshift classroom constructed with wood and planks, housing JSS 1 students, which gave way and fell onto the school fence. The structure reportedly collapsed while classes were ongoing.

‎Findings also showed that the school’s infrastructure remains largely inadequate. Classrooms used by JSS 2 students were found to be badly dilapidated, lacking doors and windows, while JSS 3 classrooms were similarly constructed with planks.

The only visible government intervention at the school includes chairs and tables donated to the JSS 3 class and a toilet facility refurbished under the iCare project, in partnership with the member representing Ikorodu in the House of Representatives, Mr Jimi Benson.

‎Community leaders explained that the school was originally established through self-help efforts after repeated requests to the government for a public secondary school yielded no result. According to them, the Kajie family donated land for the project, which was later handed over to the community before the state government eventually took over the school and posted staff.

‎Speaking on the incident, the Chairman of Itesiwaju Community Development Area (CDA), Odokekere, Mr Kazeem Gbotoba, dismissed rumours circulating on social media that between 10 and 20 students died in the collapse, describing the claims as false and misleading.

‎Lagos Govt Knew About Odokekere School’s Condition Before Collapse - Residents

‎“This land was handed over to the community. We provided sand and gravel and contributed money to start the school. The state government later took over and posted workers,” he said.

‎Mr Gbotoba added that the building had not been marked for demolition before the collapse, stressing that the structure failed due to the weakness of the plank walls.

‎“We laid three courses of blocks and completed the rest with planks. The building collapsed because the materials were weak. We thank God that none of our children was injured. The government has promised to act and has relocated the JSS 1 students to Agodo Primary School,” he said.

‎Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr Ademuyiwa Adu, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages were not returned.

‎Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government and the Special Committee on Rehabilitation of Public Schools (SCRPS) have expressed regret over the incident. Information from the SCRPS indicated that the collapsed classroom block had already been earmarked for demolition to make way for a new structure capable of accommodating the school’s growing student population.

‎The Chairman of SCRPS, Mr Hakeem Smith, who led members of the committee on an on-the-spot assessment, confirmed that work would commence immediately on the construction of an ultra-modern classroom block. He assured that the state government would provide further updates as the project progresses.