Forty pieces of ceramic white tiles arranged systematically serve as a maker board for students of the St Johns Anglican Primary School, Ebute-Igbooro, an agrarian community in the Yewa North Local Government area of Ogun State.

The tiles board, divided in three sections with a green marker, reads mathematics, english studies and basic technology.

While the date written on it bears 30/09/2025, the appearance is decades behind.

The school, with about 242 learners from different surrounding villages, presently has seven classrooms, a yellow and green painted three-block on the right and an unpainted crumbling and cracked four-block classroom on the left.

DAILY POST observed that the St Johns Anglican Primary School, founded in 1955 also had an uncompleted classroom and other dilapidated structures with palm roof ceilings.

Ebute-Igbooro is a 150-year-old community that sits at the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic.

Founded in 1875, the community with its residents speaking the Yoruba Ketu dialect has its major occupation as farming, while the women supplement the household income by producing fufu, garri, and engaging in other petty trades.

Despite existing for 150 years, the community’s severe neglect and the harsh effects of economic hardship are starkly evident in some of its barefoot school children, who lacked uniforms, textbooks, and even school bags.

A local, who spoke under anonymity within the St Johns Anglican school, called for the renovation of the class rooms, abandoned structures, disclosing that while they had a well, the students lacked access to portable water.

“We need drinkable water, we have a well but if we have someone who can give us boreholes and if the school can be fenced, it will be appreciated so that hoodlums won’t have access to destroying our classrooms and offices,” he said.

During a visit to yet another school in the community, it was observed that students at the Yewa North Local Government Primary School, formerly called the Egbado North primary school practice open defecation.

The school has about 210 pupils and is presently building two toilets that were said to be for the teachers.

When asked where the pupils use for convenience, a source within the school simply replied, “the bush”.

The source added, “they are just erecting two toilets but I believe they are for the teachers, so we need another toilet for our pupils.

“They are also drilling borehole right now, so we don’t need that. What we need are computers and philanthropists who will help us renovate all our buildings and provide fences.”

The Classrooms Were Built by Colonial Masters 100 Years Ago – Alumni

The state chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants, and an alumni of the school, Issa Olude, told DAILY POST that the school buildings which are over 100 years old were constructed by the colonial masters.

“Let me say that those buildings you are looking at are over 100 years precisely. Those buildings on ground were constructed by the colonial masters. So they are over aged, that is why you see them like this. But you can see that modern buildings are now springing up in the school”, he said.

Olude maintained that whatever he is today was a result of the foundation laid by the school and thanked the government through the member representing Yewa North constituency II at the State House of Assembly, Haruna Wahab Egungbohun for providing some buildings and interfering in positive ways, to ensure that the school is growing.

We Need More Schools, Healthcenters, Jobs – Residents cry out

Speaking to a resident identified as Ademola Muyinat, she begged the government to construct more schools and renovate the existing structures saying what they have at the moment is not enough to accommodate their children.

The 41-year-old mother of four lamented the effect of the economic hardship on members of the community, adding that they also do not have a primary healthcare center, but depend on the general hospital which lacks beds and toilets.

“The schools here are not enough for the town, we need more schools and the ones we have needs to be reconstructed, they don’t even have toilets.

“I have two kids who don’t even have school sandals, and my twins are yet to start schooling. We also need the government to repair our general hospital, the centre needs to be enlarged, the hospital needs beds and toilets,” she said.

Similarly, Kabirat Bunmi, decried the constant neglect, disclosing that to survive and take care of their families, they make garri, buy tomatoes and take them to Lagos to sell, since they do not even own a market in the community.

She told DAILY POST that the community also depends on their river and wells for water, begging the government to intervene in the provision of portable and healthy water.

Her words, “We have to survive, we make garri, buy tomatoes and take them to Lagos to sell, but we also need Lagos people to come to our town to buy from us. That’s what we want. We need a market.

“When it comes to water, we depend on our wells and rivers, we don’t have tap water. We would also love to have a water company around us”.

Our correspondent learnt that some of the youths in the community also engage in fishing and motorcycle riding to feed and support their families.

The Olori Odo of the land (head of youths) Emmanuel Akeem, begged the state government and other well meaning members of the society to help provide banks as they have to travel down to Ilaro for banking transactions.

Akeem also called for the reconstruction of the old road leading to Oja Odan and the provision of factories or companies where youths can work .

He said, “They should give us company for people to provide jobs; we need a bank, we don’t have a bank in this area, when you want to save money you’ll have to go to Ilaro and our road is bad, they should repair the old road leading to Oja Odan.”

He disclosed that while they had a general hospital that had collapsed, the community lacked a primary healthcare center.

“We have a general hospital but it has collapsed, please we need the government to help us repair it and provide beds for the patients who would be visiting,” he appealed.

Give us development that would favour our children and coming generations – Monarch tells govt

The Elebute of Ebute-Igbooro Kingdom, His Royal Highness, Oba Amusa Adetunji Dosunmu (Isolo 1), urged the state government to look into the plight of his kingdom, lamenting that despite its long existence, they are lagging behind in development.

Oba Dosunmu was the 15th Baale elevated and given the staff of office as the first monarch of the town in December 2018.

The monarch, while thanking the state government for what it has done so far, reeled out what was still lacking and called for development that would favour their children and coming generations.

He said, “What we need in this town is quite a number, what we need is something that will favour our children and the next generation. In this town, we want a market where we can buy and sell without having issues.

“We also need the governor to help us renovate the schools in the town, and our town hall. We also need banks around us, we need a tiled road that will link the town to the city.

“We thank God for the government and how far they’ve helped in the development of this town, but we also want firms that will employ the youths in the town,” he concluded.

When contacted, the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, told DAILY POST that he is unable to confirm the state of the schools at the moment and promised to get back.

His words, “Unfortunately I cannot confirm from here because I’m not in the office, but I know that if you just send me the details of the schools, I’ll be able to get you information concerning what we are probably doing or maybe the action plan”.

Our correspondent immediately sent details of the school to the commissioner as requested via text message on his whatsapp, but he has not responded days after.

His response was being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

Inside 150-year old Ogun community where students use tiles as white board, practice open defecation