Deaf students send SOS to Makinde over encroachment on school’s land  

Students of Christian Mission School for the Deaf in Ibadan, yesterday, called on the Oyo State government to stop the selling of the 39 acres of  land belonging to the school located at Kilometre 18 on Lagos-Ibadan expressway, to  political office holders and other individuals.

The students during a protest in Ibadan, while displaying placards with varying inscriptions, made a passionate plea to Governor Seyi Makinde to stop encroachers from taking over the land which the school laboured hard to get for the proposed establishment of the first University for the Deaf in the whole of Africa.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read,

“The deaf have the rights to live; Please, do not snatch our lands; Don’t punch the deaf in the face; Please, do not oppress the deaf; The deaf are helpless, help us” and many more.

Speaking on behalf of the management of the school, a member of the school’s Advisory Board, Dr Gbenga Idowu, said the land was bought in 2005 and that problem started when the state government acquired the land in 2018 without prior notice despite the fact that the school duly registered the property with the state government.

According to him, the school has no power of its own and not happy about the encroachment as it has only only 39 acres, stating that in a saner clime, the government will fully support the school due to the disability of the innocent and helpless children.

He said, “If our government will not help us, they should leave us with the little we struggled to get.

“A senator coming to take the land of the poor. What for? There’s  land everywhere. Why should it be the land of these defenceless innocent children you want to take by force?

“This deaf school is not meant for Christian alone; there are Muslim children among these students who come from all over the country. Governor Seyi Makinde should please help us do all he can to protect us from these encroachers.

“For years, our mission has strived tirelessly to uplift deaf individuals  preventing them from the indignity of becoming street beggars and urchins. We established Primary and Secondary schools for the Deaf, located at Plot 78 Commercial Reservation, off Kudeti Avenue, Onireke GRA, Ibadan in the year 1998 and 2004. However, the overwhelming number of students and dedicated staff has rendered this place severely congested.”

Idowu noted that driven by a profound commitment to expand its reach and provide comprehensive training, encompassing Primary, Secondary, Vocational, Agricultural, and even University Education – a pioneering initiative for the Deaf in Nigeria and the African continent –, the school embarked on a mission to buy a larger expanse of land through the generous contributions of compassionate families, friends, and supporters who share its unwavering love for the Deaf.

“This land represents a beacon of hope, a tangible step towards realizing our vision of a self-sufficient and empowered Deaf community.

“We have written several letters to make the state government see reasons but our pleas fell on deaf ears. Nobody responded to us until last year when we noticed a new encroachment again by one Senator Olalekan Afuye. We accosted him to enquire why he encroached on our land but he put up a stiff resistance and told us we should go to court.

“They have forcefully taken over 19 acres despite the structures we built on it. The place we have at Onireke is already choked up and that’s why we looked for a more spacious place to give life to the deaf.

“We are frustrated by this development. If we are trying to give meaningful life to these children, I think our efforts should be complemented.”

“After many attempts, the government promised to look into it but we were dismayed to witness the presence of State Government entities undertaking construction on the said land. Left with no other recourse, we sought legal intervention, and the court, recognizing the validity of our claim, issued an injunction to halt further work on the property. Regrettably, the subsequent court proceedings have been consistently frustrated by the inexplicable absence of the government’s legal representatives.

“We have observed further activity on another section of our land with individuals clearing the area. Upon inquiry, these workers informed us that Senator Olalekan Afuye had purchased the land. We approached the Senator with utmost respect, presenting all our purchase documentations and accompanied by our Surveyor and Lawyer. In a manner that left us utterly disheartened, he stated that he had bought the land from the State Government and advised us to seek clarification from government.

“We are a mission driven by compassion and a desire to serve a vulnerable segment of our society. We are not profit-driven, nor do we represent any particular denomination other than the universal Christian call to love and serve our neighbors’ as ourselves. We have relied on the goodwill of ordinary citizens to achieve our modest progress.

“In the absence of direct government support, we find ourselves utterly bewildered and heartbroken by what appears to be a systematic denial of our rights. Why are we who seek only to empower and uplift the Deaf, subjected to such disheartening treatment by the very government we had hoped would be our ally and beacon of support?

Appealing to Governor Makinde, the school noted,

“We firmly believe in your commitment to justice, equity, and the well-being of all citizens of Oyo State, including the most vulnerable. We implore you to personally look into our predicaments and provide a final and just resolution to this protracted issue. The future of countless Deaf individuals, their hopes for education, self-reliance, and dignity, rests upon your compassionate intervention.”