This is the popular ADA PRIMARY SCHOOL, situated at Itega Okpame, Okpoma. The school admits pupils from adjoining communities of Abachor Okpame, Idigbo, Olachor, Utukpo, Okrike and Oba, all in Okpoma, the headquarters of Yala LGA of Cross River State.
As the photos depict, buildings are completely worn out and dilapidated, with damaged window, doors and leaking roofs. Also the buildings and premises have been overtaken by overgrown grasses. The entrance is near impassable and the molded signpost is completely destroyed.
No doubts, teachers and pupils will be having a difficult time to carry out school activities of teaching and getting the pupils to follow through.
Ada Primary school, has produced pupils who are have turned community leaders today, with some doing well in business and other chosen careers.
The primary school, aside its primary purpose of teaching and developing young minds in the community, is being used for church Mass on Sundays by Catholic Church as an annex. And also as venue for extra-moral classes in most evenings including week days and weekends.
Today, the buildings and premises are an eye sour begging for URGENT INTERVENTION, a face life and indeed a remodelling to meet of best standard.
I tearfully use this medium to call on the state government through its preforming State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to as a matter of urgency step in and change the ugly face of this primary institution, the only government presence in the whole of Ada community and make it habitable for learning for our teeming children in the communities earlier mentioned above.
This is also a wake up call to community leaders, youth leaders and various stakeholders to mobilize themselves in the spirit of communal oneness to quickly join hands and hearts together and do the best they can before schools resume for academic session.
I will also alert leaders and members of #Project1000 to take this as its first assignment as a solution driven citizenship forum of urban professionals. Charity there say begins at home.
Please let’s all jointly work to change the narrative of our own communities.
Photos by Dominic Agbaka.
