A one-storey building with 10 blocks of classrooms has collapsed at the Agbado District Comprehensive High School in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The building collapsed on Saturday afternoon during heavy rainfall, leaving the community in shock.
Locals said pupils and teachers might have been victims if the structure had fallen during school days.
Eyewitnesses described the incident as “a calamity waiting to happen,” saying it was a result of government’s failure to respond to distress calls on the dilapidated building.
According to DAILY POST, the collapsed building had been a cause for concern for over 15 years as it posed a serious threat to the lives of students and staff.
Kolawole Adelani, a welder and resident of Oke Aro, recounted: “The school building collapsed on Saturday. I witnessed it. It happened when it was raining. The building had been there for more than 15 years and was plagued with structural issues. We all knew it would give way one day, but the authorities did nothing about it. Thank God, no lives were lost. This would have been a disaster if it had happened during the weekdays.”
The President of the Agbado District Old Students’ Association (ADCHSOSA), Ganiyu Olowu, said the building collapse at his alma mater “was a disaster foreseen.”
Olowu disclosed that the alumni association had repeatedly alerted the Ogun State Ministry of Education about the deteriorating condition of the building and the potential danger it posed to students.
“As stakeholders working with the state government to ensure holistic education across the state, we drew the attention of the former commissioner to the alarming state of the building. We were assured that a team would be sent to inspect the site. While they did visit, no action was taken on this massive classroom project initiated by Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello many years ago. As we speak, there are parts of the collapsed building that can cause more havoc when students are around,” he stated.
Olowu appealed to the Ministry of Education to take urgent action.
