Students at the Nigerian Training Centre for the Blind in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have staged protests as they raised serious concerns about poor treatment, neglect, and worsening living conditions in the school.
A student representative speaking during the protest said they are experiencing hardship because the school management isn’t treating them well despite receiving government funds and donations. He also described the school’s environment as unfit for both learning and living, citing overgrown bushes, damaged facilities, and a lack of electricity.
“Look at our surroundings—it’s bushy and unkempt, not a place fit for human beings. We’re being bitten by mosquitoes all the time, there are no fans, and the electrical sockets don’t work. We need electricity to charge our devices, but we can’t even get basic amenities to do that. Just look at this boy’s body—it’s full of rashes from mosquito and insect bites.”Despite the poor living conditions, the student alleged that the school still collects maintenance fees from the government. “And they are receiving maintenance fees,” someone asked. “Are you sure they’re getting the money?” The student replied: “Yes, they are getting it from the Oyo State government.”
According to them, the food served is often tasteless and comes in small portions, even though they say the school receives frequent donations and support from individuals and the government.
“If you go and open the store where foodstuff is kept, you’ll be shocked at how much is in there. Yet, we’re served terrible meals. Just last month, our HM received nothing less than a million naira in donations. We have evidence,” another student claimed. Attempts to speak out are often met with excuses. “When we try to raise our voices, they claim they’re in debt. And when that doesn’t work, they play divide-and-rule by causing friction between Muslim and Christian students,” one student said.
Ironically, they say the person currently in charge of the centre is someone who studied there as a child. “It’s not like we don’t have people to care for us at home. We came here to get an education and become useful to society. No one is happy living like this,” another student added.“If the school didn’t have these items, we might understand. But they do. They just won’t give them to us.”
In a shocking revelation, the students said they are still sleeping on old, torn mattresses even though new ones had been donated. “Let me give you another shocking experience,” one student said.
“The mattresses we sleep on are all tattered. But there were donations of new mattresses. They refused to let us use them.”
Babalola Ayodeji, another student, explained part of the reason for their recent protest. “We need walking sticks to help us move around, but when we ask for the ones donated to us, they refuse.“We’re in secondary school, and every day, someone falls into a culvert because they can’t see and don’t have a stick. There’s even a school bus that’s never used to take us to school. Management only uses it for themselves. We asked for the bus when Akinwale Akinwole—Wolekanle—came here during the 2023 campaign, but nothing happened.”
Another student, Bilyaminu Wasiu, didn’t hold back his frustration. “What we are facing here can’t even be explained. This man they call our boss, Taiwo Amoo, is a deceiver. We thought he would help us, but he ended up treating us badly.
“Everything meant for our welfare is now being used to enrich himself. What have we done to deserve this? They are even trying to divide us along religious lines, but thankfully, we always find ways to settle our differences together.”
In the primary section, a young pupil, Darasimi Oladosu, lamented about the school’s medical facility. “If you go and check the clinic, you won’t find anyone there—not even a single health worker. No medicine either.”Another student raised a question to the state government. “We want to ask: is it true that the budget for our food is N100 per meal? Or are they just lying to us? Even prisoners get N1,500 per meal. Are we worse than prisoners?”
The students stressed that their protest isn’t meant to cause trouble but to call attention to their situation.“We’re not here to create chaos. We just want the public and government to know what we are going through—and help us.”
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