- We’ll find temporary accommodation for the children –FCDA
A few days ago, residents of Abuja were enraged as the infamous bulldozers of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) rolled over a charity home, pulling down everything and displacing over100 innocent children. ONWUKA NZESHI reports
The Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ Orphanage Home is a private charity organisation catering for the needs of the orphans, homeless and less privileged children. It is located on Arab Road, Kubwa, in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory. The orphanage home which is an offshoot of the Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ Evangelical Ministry, had a population of a hundred and thirty (130) children.
They are essentially orphans and abandoned children picked by some good Samaritans and brought to the home. It is the responsibility of the home to cater for the daily needs including heathcare and education of these children Last Tuesday, tragedy struck at the orphanage home as those taking refuge there on account of the peculiar circumstances surrounding their lives, had the misfortune of being chased out of their little comfort zone.
The only home they had known was violently violated and what used to be the roof over their heads, brutally brought down in broad day light, leaving the kids in disarray. It was a traumatic experience not just to the kids but to other residents in the neighbourhood. As you walk into the large compound, destruction, stares you in the face. Mangled corrugated iron sheets, planks ceiling board and broken walls lay scattered on every side. Tables, chairs, cupboards, matreses, kitchen utensils, food stuff, toiketeries and other household items were all strewn in the open, exposed to the scorching heat of the sun. It was like a scene from a community which had just suffered a natural disaster such as a cyclone or an earthquake. Looking further down, you could see some children in their school uniforms sitting in clusters under the trees. You could hear them talking in hushed tones and as you moved closer, you would realise that they were actually at their desks writing an examination under the supervision of their teachers. Similarly, another group of children who should be in the creche and kindergarten classes, played under a canopy. Not far from them, were some adults who watched over the kids as they played, and embraced themselves.
Those watching over them wore long faces and appeared not amused by what they saw around them. These adults, Saturday Telegraph later learnt, were the caregivers who were apparently yet to come to terms with what had happened to the charity home and its inmates. Director of the Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ Orphanage Home, Mr Charles Ikezemuoka said that tragedy hit the home on Tuesday evening when the bulldozers of the of the Development Control Department, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA) stormed the place and pulled down all the buildings in the compound. The demolition squad, he said, comprised officials of the FCDA and some armed security operatives who rebuffed all appeals that the exercise be put off. Ikezemuoka said that there had been a dispute over the land upon which the orphanage was built but that the matter was the subject of litigation in court. According to him, officials of the Development Control Department were aware because they were also parties to the suit. He said the orphanage home received all due approvals from the FCDA as far back as 2011 and that there was no justification for pulling down the buildings while the dispute that arose later on the property was still pending in court.
“I told them that proceeding on the matter are still ongoing and even if by some magical means, the court case had ended without our knowledge, they are supposed to have informed us that we should move before a certain date before this action. “They said they demolished our fence as a warning and that they are not aware of any court case. So when they started the demolition, we just had to rush in to evacuate some of our properties but some are still buried in the rubbles. We are still bringing them out from the rubble gradually,” he said Saturday Telegraph asked him to estimate the losses suffered by the home as a result of the demolition but Ikezemuoka said it would be difficult except for a quantity surveyor “We had a hostel for the kids. We also had a school that provided education for our kids here in the home as well as for those coming from around our community here it was a Nursery, Primary and Secondary School. We had a Computer Laboratory and Library. We also had a poultry. We also had a church auditorium where the kids worshipped on Sundays and for other church activities none of them is standing now,” he said. In spite of the destruction done to the home, the operators are resilient in keeping hope alive.
They have secured a temporary accommodation where the kids retire to at night. However, they are still running the school under the shades of the trees in the demolished compound. “The children had almost completed their term’s work when this thing happened and we decided that they have to finish their examinations . We have up to 300 pupils in our school because apart from the kids in the orphanage home, there are kids who come from outside. You know we have classes up to the Senior Secondary. This home has produced kids who are even in the universities around the country.
“I cannot speculate as to why the FCDA has done what they have done. At this point, I am just trying to make sure that my kids are comfortable and as long as they are comfortable, I am fine. I think that I will leave the law to take care of whatever the intent was before they came to demolish this place. I really don’t want to think in that direction because there is a lot for me to worry about here. My main concern is the care and the safety of these kids,” Ikezemuoka said. On the speculation on social media that some of the kids got missing during the sudden demolition of the home, Ikezemuoka explained that a number of them went missing momentarily but were later found after the panic and confusion that gripped the home. “What happened was that during the demolution; it was after school hours, around a quarter past three in the afternoon. The kids had finished their exams for the day and had gone in for lunch. They just finished their lunch when the demolition started. People were running helter skelter and while the kids who came from outside and who also had lunch with us were running away, some of our kids living in the home ran with them. But as at today, we have been able to recover every one of them,” he said. Saturday Telegraph gathered that the authorities of the home have been able to secure three units of two bedroom flats as temporary accommodation for these kids. According to Ikezemuoka, the new accommodation though not comfortable considering the population , would at least provide a place where these kids could lay their heads at night. Since the issues leading to the demolition were pending in court, Ikezemuoka disclosed that he had got in touch with his lawyers and they would be working it out with the FCDA in the coming days. Elvis Ajayi, one of the teachers in Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ Academy, expressed surprise that the FCDA could embark on such a demolition exercise without considering the plight of the kids in the home and school. Ajayi said he had closed from school on the fateful day when he heard that the school where he worked had been demolished. “Actually, I am not happy about the situation. The children no longer have a place to study You can see that we are conducting the exams under the trees. The exams started on Monday but we just have to make sure that they finish the exams and ensure we complete the session with them. We are using this oppirtunity to beg Nigerians to come to our aid so that these children can have a home and a school where they can continue their studies.
FCDA reacts
Meanwhile, the Department of Development Control, Federal Capital Development Authority has advanced reasons for demolishing the orphanage home. Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, said the structure was demolished for alleged non-compliance with town planning regulations. Galadima also accused the operators of the home of disregarding several stop work notices served on the property, which also included a demand for the production of title document for the property. He said that the property owners completely failed to comply with development control requirements in the nation’s capital. “When we received this complaint of encroachment, we visited the site and served all the relevant notices beginning from stop work notice, quit notice to demolition notice…in line with our responsibility of ensuring strict implementation of the Abuja Master Plan. “She did not submit any title document about the disputed property. If she had submitted, we would have put her title document together with that of the complainant and sent it to the department of Lands Administration to confirm who the rightful owner of the land was or is, because there are three plots she is sitting on. The issuing authority would now write us formally confirming the real owner of the land. “In the beginning, we had sympathy and a kind heart for the children, and we are looking for a way forward for the children, on how to cushion their hardship by relocating them so that they do not feel that they are rejected by the society.That is why the most important thing at this moment is the welfare of those children, which we are working seriously on. “We want to provide succour for them, by getting them a temporary accommodation, even if it is for one year, so that our children will have a safe place to stay. This is because this government has a human face. We hope to do that as soon as possible,” Galadima assured.
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