THESE are not happy times for people of Ifesowapo, Ifo Local Council of Ogun State.
Though they have over the years witnessed heavy rainfall, last week’s two-day downpour, accompanied by a ravaging windstorm, was the most devastating.
Worst hit in the disaster, among the Ifesowapo community of nine towns and villages, are Oyero, Oluke and Arugudu.
At the end, a man died in Arugudu, another lost an arm at Okugbolu, the only Primary School that has been serving the whole Ifesowapo community for about 95 years, the local Anglican Church, and the Community High School at Oluke, were wrecked.
Several houses in Oyero, including that of Senator Kunle Oyero, were destroyed in the rainstorm, while orange and mango orchards, plantain plantations and others for which the area is widely-known, were all damaged.
“The only way to make them fruitful again is to cut them down to allow for fresh growth, 85-year-old Chief David Adebesin, one of the affected farmers told The Guardian.
A devastated Adebesin, said: “We have not seen this before.”
Also, 80-year-old Mrs. Alice Odeyale, whose family house was among those destroyed, lamented the loss of the only property left for her by her husband who died over 25 years ago.
“Where do I go from here? Whom do I turn to for repair of this house? At my age, which work or farm produce can I sell now to get N50,000.00 to rehabilitate the house,” she said in tears.
The Vicar of the Anglican Church, which lost its roof, expressed his shock at the ill -wind that completely destroyed the church’s overflow attached to the main building.
“This is my fifth year in Oluke and I have never experienced this type of rainstorm.”
A community leader, James Adewale Ajibawo, said he could not believe what he saw, left by the storm of his family compound.
“As you can see, the roofs on the two buildings have not only been blown off, some of the blocks too have been destroyed. To affect any repair on roof would not work except a substantial repair of the building is also affected,” he said.
A closer look showed the detached roof violently struck and destroyed three other houses as it flew across the town.
Those roofed with slate crumpled and were scattered like china all over some areas of the town. Shops were destroyed in the storm, which rendered tonnes of cement meant for sale by traders, utterly useless.
The Community School at Oluke, which serves Oluke, Okugbolu Oyero, Arugudu, Lisa, Alapandi, Ademokula, and Shonde, lost three blocks of classrooms.
The Chairman of the School Building Committee, Mr. Ikufoniyi said: “The school was set up in 1978 by the then military government and commissioned in 1979, a ceremony which Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and Chief Bisi Onabanjo who later became Ogun State Governor, attended.
“In 1986 after it had turned out two sets of graduates at West African Examination Council level, was shut down by the government following what they called ‘rationalization’.
“This created a lot of problems for the community as pupils had to trek about seven kilometres to get to the nearest school at Ijoko, a town close to Sango. “Many promising future leaders withered by the way due to extra cost, wastage of physical and emotional strength”
“By 2007 the school was re-opened by Governor Gbenga Daniel on certain conditions. One was that we should build a three-classroom block or renovate the old one that was still standing and pay teachers’ salaries for some months before the government would take over.
“This was a great challenge to the rural community and serious strain on our meagre resources.
However, because we saw the light ahead of the tunnel, we rose up to the challenge.
“We consisted a committee of which I was the Chairman to raise fund. Our target was N5 million. Apart from what we realized, we equally borrowed from lending institutions.
“Part of the debt is still pending till now. By this great devastation, we are back to square one. Now that the N5 million effort has been destroyed by the storm, the committee has to start all over again.”
The Parents-Teachers’ Association Chairman, Mr. Ikufoniyi, lamented the loss and fervently prayed the government would come to the aid of the school and the community.
According to Dr. Samson Abati, the Special Adviser to the Olu of Oluke, His Royal Highness, Oba Adegboyega Adisa Akinode Odu Aremu I, the deprivations in the rural community have been further worsened “ by this rage of storm which no one ever expected.
“Our headache before was the terrible condition of our road from Ijoko to Lisa, now the storm has compounded the problem.
“The traditional ruler who was away from the town during the ravaging rainstorm is sad but also prays the government of Ogun State should rally round the people and give them assistance.
Since Tuesday last week, those whose houses had been blown away are at the mercy of the elements, as well as teachers and pupils, and worshippers in the damaged church, too.
“We are devastated, but strongly believe that the government would not abandon us in this time of need, considering the fact that we have a National Emergency Relief Agency in the state,” Dr. Abati said hopefully.
“We had to quickly call the Kabiesi to come and see the massive destruction when the storm.
“It was so shocking to us all since no such thing has ever happened before in the whole of Ifesowapo Community,” Adebesin said.
“There is no way we can single-handedly tackle the repairs. It is too much. Where do we start from? Is it from the school that was recently completed? Or the church that is now left half open or the houses without roofs? The damage is too extensive and expensive for us to handle,” Mr. Kufoniyi submitted.
On his part, Dr. Abati said the community would need up to N50 million to b.ring some order to the great destruction left behind by the storm.
“We are begging the state and local councils to rally around our people.
“ Now, we find it difficult to go back to peasant farmers and petty traders to raise money as we did earlier.
“The government is our only hope and the earlier its help the comes, the better for us,” he added.
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