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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
Eziokposi High School, strategically located on the Okposi/Amasiri Road in Okposi, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has been defaced by sand excavators, who have dug deep holes in front of the school.
The sand was allegedly used for a project in a nearby community in the area. Residents of the area accused the Okposi Development Centre and Ohaozara Local Government authorities of the excavation, which they likened to a dog that ate the bone hung round its neck.
However, both the coordinator of the development centre and chairman of the local government area could not react when Daily Sun contacted them for their reactions to the allegation.
One of the indigenes of the area, Bethel Ogbonna Uneke, insisted that it was the development centre and local government authorities that defaced the school through the sand excavation.
“I was on live video with some of our people who were there when sand was being excavated in the school. I was shedding tears because it is a case of a dog eating the bone that was hanging on its neck. We began to find out that it was the local government that sent people to go and excavate the front of that school in collaboration with the Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre 2.
“The coordinator and the local government area chairman teamed up and they did that evil thing in that school. How can any right thinking human being on earth go to a school facility and excavate sand from the front of the school. The beauty of the school is in that entrance and it is prone to erosion.
“They took the sand they excavated in front of the school and filled a market they are building in another community. In other parts of the country or even Igbo land, such things trigger communal clashes.
“That excavation went on for several weeks, they continued the excavation, defacing the school and successfully mined the quantity of sand they wanted and went and filled another community. It is very sad, it is very sad, indeed. But what can anyone do if a government that is supposed to protect the school and is supposed to enhance the facilities in the school begins to destroy it,” he lamented.
Uneke, who attended the school, lamented the deplorable condition of the school which he said has led to students withdrawal from the institution. He urged government at all levels to pay special attention to it by rebuilding all the dilapidated structures to restore its glory.
He said apart from the dilapidated structures, the school lacks teachers and it remains another serious problem .
“The story of the school is very bad because that school is my alma mater. What I am today and what I will even become tomorrow, started from that school. It went a long way to fashion and created me again and again
“In the recent past, we came together as old students of that school to look at the challenges of the school. By the grace of God, we have played serious role in that school by giving confidence to the students because many of the students there were running away because they don’t have enough teachers, they don’t have qualified teachers, there are no more classrooms there, no laboratory, no library, nothing in that school any more.
“You can imagine a class having 15 or 20 students against 50 it is supposed to have. The students are now running away because the school doesn’t have enough teachers, they don’t have qualified teachers. The teachers they have don’t have materials to teach and the students are now running to private schools and you can agree with me that the quality of teaching and learning cannot be equated to government secondary school when it is properly staffed and properly managed”, Uneke said.
“When I was in that school, we had a functional library, we had a functional laboratory. We had a massive school hall that will hold all our activities. All these I mentioned now have either been burnt by fire because grasses will overgrow the classrooms and then, there have either been burnt by fire or the roofs are no more there.
“The school doesn’t have any security and then you have vandals and hoodlums who go to the school, remove some of the valuable materials that are still in the school and take them away, including roofs, irons and other items.
“I urge the state government to kindly visit the school, see things for themselves and then help and put the school structures in order. As old students of the school, we have limited resources, limited expertise to do certain things in the school but we are trying our best,” he said.
Eziokposi High School used to be one of the best secondary schools in the community and beyond but it is now a shadow of itself following various forms of human activities and neglect.
Established in 1982 through communal efforts, the school with over 10 buildings, had some of the best teachers, library, laboratories, WAEC and NECO halls and other necessary facilities for effective teaching and learning.
But today, none of the structures exist, including administrative block, school principal’s block, National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) lodge and other essential blocks.
All the structures in school have become dilapidated and overgrown by weeds and trees. The buildings are now abodes for reptiles and hideouts for hoodlums. Only two buildings that are looking new, are still standing in the school.
Student population of the school has also reduced drastically. Some classes now have 15 students while some have less than that as against 50 and above when the school was at its best.
Before the current condition of the school, there were senior secondary school classes but such classes no longer exist, they have all collapsed.
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Apostle Moses Nnamdi Nwabueze, President of Old Students Association of the school, expressed sadness about the state of the school which, according to him, has produced many people who are excelling in life. He said he can’t be bold to mention the school as a place he acquired secondary education because of its deplorable condition now.
He urged the state government to immediately reactivate the school by rebuilding all the dilapidated structures and fencing it to secure it from hoodlums who often invade the school during teaching and learning to disturb students and teachers.
Nwabueze narrated how the school came to be. He said: “There was a time Okposi, as a community, had only one secondary school which was Government Secondary School and the people from this side were finding it very difficult to send their children to that Government Secondary School because of the distance. This side is Mgbom N’achara and Eziokposi in general. That side is called Okposi Okwu.
“The parents said since they have a land, let them give it out. On their own, they raised money and put up the school before the government came in to assist them. So, it was a collective measure from the people that established this school.
“I must be open to you. Indeed, this school is one of the oldest schools in this area. It started in 1982. What you are seeing here at the entrance to this school is an eyesore made by the people that are supposed to be serving the community.
“I was in my house when I was called to come and witness things for myself. I came and saw things for myself and I condemned the act. None of us was happy.
“We tried to prevent the sand mining but we could not do anything; we called the government to come and help us. I am ashamed to tell anyone this is the school I passed through. When you go round this school, you will be very much ashamed.
“The condition of this school is nothing to write home about and that is why we are calling on government to come and revive this school. This school is dead, nothing is here anymore. This school had the best laboratory, library, WAEC and NECO halls, best classrooms and other structures. But today, none of these structures is standing, they have all collapsed and been overtaken by bushes and trees.
“This school which also had the best administrative block, Senior Secondary (SS) class, no longer has such places. The principal doesn’t have an office anymore. The Corpers’ lodge is also gone; it has equally collapsed and overtaken by weeds and trees.”
He disclosed that many parents have withdrawn their children from the school because of its status today and that the Old Boys of the institution have been doing their best to ensure that the school exist but their best is not good enough because of the many things that must be done to bring the school back on track.
“Because of the sorry state of this school, many parents have withdrawn their children. Insecurity has also been affecting the school. Sometimes hoodlums will invade the school and begin to harass the teachers during teaching and learning hours and that is why the population of this school is totally down.
“We need security measures in this school. This school needs to be fenced and all the collapsed buildings rebuilt. You can see that only two classroom blocks are still standing out of over 10 classroom blocks. This school needs serious attention.
“Old students of this school have tried a lot but our best is not enough to revive this school and that is why we are calling on the government to come and assist us to save this school from total collapse. This school has produced doctors, lawyers, engineers, lawmakers, professors and other personalities and it must not die.
“This school is supposed to be one of the best schools in Ohaozara LGA but you can see the pathetic situation it is today and that’s why I am raising the alarm and calling on the government to rescue this school. Looking at the school, you will notice that it is facing erosion problems and the only place that is safe is the very area that they are digging. So, if they succeed in having that place, that means the school will suffer more. So, we don’t know why they have decided to kill this school,” he stated.
On his part, former Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), Ebonyi State University (EBSU) chapter, Prof. Ikechukwu Idenyi who also passed through the school, recalled how the school made the local government and the entire state proud in various competitions, including sports where it distinguished itself.
He blamed politics on the pathetic condition of the school and urged government at all levels to resurrect the school by renovating all the dilapidated structures and employ more teachers.
“I attended this school, we were the first set of this secondary school. This school and the structures you see there were built by the people through communal efforts. Those wonderful structures you saw when you went round that school were all built through communal efforts. In fact, one of the buildings that was Intro-Tech Lab, was built by women, the Eziokposi women.
“They take turns to come around, pick stones, they will be chanting encouraging songs then while their husbands and men will be laying the blocks. They will be turning the sands, cement and gravels and they made contributions and bought all the materials that were used in building that particular structure. They said that their men have tried, let them build that lab and that was when we had a community until politics crept in and then loyalty moved from community to family.
“That school made a wonderful name. In the field of sports, we were champions in Ohaozara. We emerged the best team in football, handball in Ohaozara and Afikpo division. We go to Okigwe, we beat those in Okigwe. We were only defeated when we went to maybe, Aba, Umuahia because they don’t really bring students to play, they bring Enyimba boys.
“This is how wonderful the school was. Things began to go bad when people brought in politics and people became too selfish that it became too difficult for people to come together to agree because you are either in this party or in that party. So, through party lines, people had diverse interest and it became difficult to have a common interest and ever since then you can see the pathetic condition of this school.
“There is no classroom in this school now, there is no classroom. We, the old students of that school, have tried our best. We have been doing a lot in that school but there is a limit to what we can do because most of us have not really been established,” he said.
Principal of the school, Okoro Titus Ogbu, described its condition as very terrible. “I just resumed there around three weeks ago and saw how terrible the school is. If they can help to rebuild the structures in this school, it will be okay. As I speak to you, I have no office, just look at how my office is”, he told Daily Sun.
