Okoloba Federated Community in Burutu council area of Delta State on Wednesday declared that their children no longer go to school as a result of the flood that has ravaged the community.
They, therefore, appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to assist them sand-fill the proposed site of their new secondary School before building the structures.
Leaders of the community spoke to journalists when a delegation from the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education inspected the land for the proposed new secondary school.
They lamented that the flood had made their children miss school for more than a term as all the structures in the community, including the only secondary school, remain submerged in the flood.
One of the leaders of the community, Matthias Young, who spoke to journalists during the inspection, appealed to the delegation to ensure that the site was sand-filled before the new structures were built.
He said this would raise the foundation of the structures above the sea level and prevent the school from being submerged like every other building in the community.
Young said that he was happy when he heard that the state government was taking over the building of the secondary School. He however appealed that an Environmental Impact Assessment should be carried out before the structures were erected.
“We want to appreciate the state government for the step they have taken so far. But we want them to sand fill the land for us first before building the new structures that will house the school. This way our children will continue to attend school even when there is flood,” Young said.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on Research and Youth Development, Davids Akpoblokeme, and indigene of the community, made the same appeal, saying that their children were suffering as a result of the perennial flood.
“I want to join my brothers to appeal to the state Governor to assist us because we have been suffering a lot in this community. Each time there is flood in the community, all the houses, including the schools, are submerged in the water.
“You can see what has been done at the permanent site of the NIMASA Science and Technical College, which is just few kilometres from the proposed site of the secondary school. In spite of the flood you can see that this place is not affected because it was sand-filled,” Akpoblokeme said.
Earlier, Thomas Erebimiekumo, the Principal Adminstration Officer in the Department of Planning and Research, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Asaba, said they were in the community to inspect the land that the community had provided for the building of the school.
He said they were in the community with regards to a letter written to the ministry of education by the people of Okoloba federated community asking the state government to build a secondary school for them.
“In the letter we were told that there was a secondary school that was being handled by private individuals since 2011. So Government took over the school from them after seeing their enthusiasm in 2013.
“We have come and we have seen the land. It is a very vast piece of land and it is a virgin land that can accommodate a lot of projects,” he said.
Erebimiekumo said the team was in the community to let them know that the government was ready to assist them in whatever way it could.
“When we inspected the land we found out that the whole area was flooded and of course this is not peculiar to only the land, but also the whole Niger Delta region,” Erebimiekumo said.
