- As Pupils Resort To Street Begging, Picking Plastic Bottles To Survive
The current economic hardship in Nigeria is having excruciating effects on school children in Osun State, while the absence of social investment programmes has further worsened their condition.
Findings by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that the economic downturn is affecting the daily lives of school children, as many parents can no longer afford school uniforms, shoes, bags and basic writing materials.
The situation has also increased street begging among children, thereby contributing significantly to the growing number of out-of-school children in the state.
In some parts of the state visited by this medium — including Osogbo, Ile-Ife, Ilesa, Ede, Iwo and other major towns — pupils and students were seen in tattered uniforms and worn-out school bags. Many others were found without uniforms or writing materials while on their way to school.
OSUN DEFENDER also discovered that some children now engage in picking plastic bottles as a means of survival to support their families.
One of the children, a pupil at a public primary school in Osogbo, who spoke with our correspondent while searching for empty bottles at Old Garage area of the state capital, said a kilogram of plastic bottles is sold for ₦200. According to her, she searches for bottles daily after school to support her parents.
“This is what I do every time I close from school. I pick bottles around the streets of Osogbo. We sell one kilogram for ₦200. Sometimes I make about ₦600 and give it to my mummy. With that, I can go to school with food,” she said.
Similarly, another male child sighted at the Olaiya area of Osogbo during school hours on Wednesday said he could not attend school due to unpaid fees.
“I couldn’t go to school because I haven’t paid my school fees. I live with my grandmother. She is old and struggles to take care of me and my siblings. I come out every day to pick bottles to sell,” he said.
Educational stakeholders in the state have attributed the situation to the absence of people-oriented policies and social intervention programmes previously implemented under the Rauf Aregbesola administration.
One of the notable programmes of the Aregbesola era was the reintroduction of Callisthenics, alongside the distribution of free school uniforms. During school anniversaries, inter-house sports and official government visits, pupils were often mobilised to entertain guests through Callisthenics displays.
At major national and state celebrations such as Independence Day, State Creation Anniversary and Children’s Day, Callisthenics displays remained one of the major attractions at the state stadium.
Whenever the government organised the programme for major events, about 5,000 students were selected as a “state team” from several schools in Osogbo and Olorunda Local Government Areas. The government catered for their training, costumes and welfare. Each participant was paid ₦300 daily for over 90 days of training to ease transportation and feeding burdens from their parents. Though costly, the programme was seen as a direct investment in over 5,000 families, aside from its cultural and aesthetic benefits.
Many beneficiaries of the initiative have continued to call on the government to reinstate the programme.
These and other social intervention programmes were considered instrumental in reducing poverty and crime in Osun State, ranking it among states with some of the lowest crime and poverty rates in the country at the time.
The Callisthenics programme was expected to continue when Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola succeeded Aregbesola on November 27, 2018, but it was later discontinued alongside several other social programmes.
In 2012, no fewer than 750,000 pupils of public primary and secondary schools benefitted from the state’s unified school uniform initiative. Each student in elementary, middle and high schools was given two pairs of uniforms free of charge in the first phase, while subsequent replacements were sold at highly subsidised rates.
Many parents also benefited from the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O’YES), which was aimed at reducing youth unemployment.
In an interview in August 2018, the then O’YES Commandant, Colonel Enibukun Oyewole (rtd.), stated that the scheme had transformed the lives of thousands of youths. He noted that Osun State had one of the lowest unemployment rates in Nigeria, according to National Bureau of Statistics data at the time.
Oyewole disclosed that over ₦3.6 billion was expended annually on the programme, while more than 42,000 youths benefitted from it across all zones of the state.
“Some of my cadets are now landlords. They built their houses through what they earned from this scheme, and over 22,000 are currently serving as O’YES cadets,” he said.
He added that the scheme empowered youths with practical skills, reduced restiveness and helped many establish small and medium-scale businesses.
Meanwhile, under the current administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke, the ‘Imole Youth Corps’ was introduced but has been criticised by some stakeholders, who allege that the selection process lacked transparency and was dominated by political loyalists of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
OSUN DEFENDER, however, gathered that many of the corps members posted to schools across the state have reportedly abandoned their duty posts due to poor remuneration.
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people.
