Students of the Christian Mission School for the Deaf, Ibadan have appealed to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde to intervene and stop political office holders and other individuals from taking over their 39-acre land.
The placard-carrying protesting students, on Thursday, implored Makinde to stop encroachers from taking over their land situated at Kilometre 18 on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The students said the school laboured to get the land 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 land”; “Don’t punch the deaf in the face”; “Please, do not oppress the deaf”; and “The deaf are helpless, help us”, among others.
Speaking on behalf of the School Management, Dr Gbenga Idowu, a member of its Advisory Board, said: “We bought the land in 2005.
“But the problem started when the state government acquired the land in 2018 without prior notice, despite the fact that we duly registered the property with them.
“We have no power of our own. We are not happy about the encroachment. We have only 39 acres.
“In a saner clime, the government will fully support us due to the disability of these innocent and helpless children. If our government will not help us, they should leave us with the little we struggled to get,” he said.
Dr Idowu appealed to Governor Makinde for his intervention, claiming that a senator was planning to take over the land of the Christian Mission School for the Deaf.
“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 School for the Deaf 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.”
He said the Mission School for the Deaf has, for years, strived tirelessly to uplift deaf individuals, saving 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 1998 and 2004, respectively.
He added that the overwhelming number of students and dedicated staff however rendered the place severely congested.
“Driven by a profound commitment to expand our 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 – we embarked on a mission to buy a larger expanse of land.
“We succeeded in getting the land through the generous contributions of compassionate families, friends, and supporters who share our unwavering love for the deaf.
“This land represents a beacon of hope, a tangible step towards realising our vision of a self-sufficient and empowered deaf community,” Dr Idowu said.
He claimed that the school had written several letters to make the state government to see reasons but its 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 is 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 state government promised to look into it but we were dismayed to witness the presence of government entities undertaking construction on the said land.
“Left with no other recourse, we sought legal intervention, and the court, recognising 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,” he said.
Dr Idowu said, in the absence of direct government support, the school and its students found themselves utterly bewildered and heartbroken by what appeared to be a systematic denial of their 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?,” he asked.
The school appealed to Governor Makinde for his intervention, noting: “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 predicament 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.”
