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By Patience Ogbo

January 23, 2011 10:56PM

5 year old Ayo Olaniyi, who had been fending for himself by running errands at the Otto-Ilogbo slum in Ebute Metta, has finally found shelter at a couple’s home in Ibadan.

Following the publication of his story by NEXT, in December, Ayo Dada, a pastor at Alleluia Bible Christian church, Kongi, Ibadan, and his wife, Adekemi, volunteered to take responsibility for Master Olaniyi’s upkeep.

Good Samaritans

According to Mrs Dada, a mother of six, the decision to take little Ayo into their care was borne out of compassion. “My husband and I are retired lecturers at the University of Ibadan,” she said. “We read about Ayo in the newspaper in December. Incidentally, he is my husband’s name sake and we took interest in his case. We believe we can give him a home atmosphere and upbringing that will make him useful to the society. So on Friday we came down to look at the place he is staying and it is not the best of place for anybody how much more a boy Ayo’s age. My last child is 18 and Ayo is like a grandchild to us so we will take good care of him. We are grateful to God for giving us this privilege. If tomorrow, his mother shows up, definitely we will release him if anybody has a concrete claim.”

His story

At four, Ayo had started fending for himself, by running errands for adults at Otto/Ilogbo slum community in the Ebute Metta area of the state in exchange for a roof over his head. Ayo’s plight began at age two, when his parents separated. His father, Eweola Olaniyi, lost all his property and money to the fire that gutted the over hundred shanties at the slum in February this year. Mrs Olaniyi reportedly walked away from the marriage when things became too difficult, taking her one-year-old daughter along and leaving Ayo, then aged two, with his father. And then, it got worse when Mr Olaniyi passed away in April 2009. Subsequently, Ayo was left with no family member to cater for him.

A thankful community

Agbodimu Musbau, the Chairman of Otto-Ilogbo community in Ebute Metta, while expressing his gratitude to the couple, called on other Nigerians to emulate them. “Children like Ayo are many in our community, some of them have grown up to become problem in the society because there was nobody to help them,” he said. “Ayo is very fortunate and we are grateful to Pastor Dada and his wife for helping him. I have gone to Ibadan with them to see where Ayo will be living and the place is very beautiful and conducive. Following the reports in the newspaper, Pastor Dada from Ibadan has been contacting me that he wanted to adopt Ayo if his family do not show up. On Friday his wife came to Otto-Ilogbo and saw how Ayo was living and she was moved with pity.”

Carrying everyone along

Mr Musbau said that the Yaba Welfare Home and the Denton Police Station were involved in the decision to hand Master Olaniyi over to the couple from Ibadan. “The welfare officer at Yaba said the state government is willing to take Ayo into the welfare but since there is somebody who is willing to take care of Ayo, that the law allows the community to release Ayo to them as far as they are reputable people and they can take care of him,” he said.

Mr and Mrs Dada are the owners of Winfield Institute at Ibadan, as well as Dada Estate Company. This is in addition to overseeing the Alleluia Bible Church at Kongi, Ibadan. “I and other people in the community will be visiting him (Ayo) from time to time to see how he is doing and if his mother shows up we will take her to see him so there is nothing to hide,” added Mr Musbau.

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************** ORIGINAL STORY ***********************

The Shanty Boy
« on: December 09, 2010, 09:59 AM »

The shanty boy

BY PATIENCE OGBO

December 8, 2010 11:12PM


Five-year-old Ayo Olaniyi is not in school like other children.

At four he had started fending for himself, by running errands for adults at Otto/Ilogbo slum community in the Ebute Metta area of the state in exchange for a roof over his head. Ayo’s plight began at age two, when his parents separated. His father, Eweola Olaniyi, lost all his property and money to the fire that gutted the over hundred shanties at the slum in February this year. Mrs Olaniyi reportedly walked away from the marriage when things became too difficult, taking her one-year-old daughter along and leaving Ayo, then aged two, with his father.

And then, it got worse when Mr Olaniyi passed away in April 2009. Subsequently, Ayo was left with no family member to cater for him. He is surviving on the charity of the community, which has over twenty thousand slum dwellers. The residents were also affected by the fire that destroyed most of the shanties. They said they made frantic efforts to locate Ayo’s mother or any of his relations, to no avail. “Ayo stayed with me for a while but he is just roaming about in this place,” said Ishola Musbua, the Chairman of the Otto/Ilogbo Community Development Association. “And the residents take turn to cater for him. Today he will eat in this house, tomorrow he will go to another house to eat and bath so his situation is pathetic and we want the government to come to his rescue.”

Seeking government’s help

NEXT investigations revealed that Ayo’s father, the late Mr Olaniyi, was a native of Idanre in Ekiti State, while his mother, Zainab Olaniyi, is from Kwara State. Ayo is presently staying with one Oladapo Shodia, a father of three, who resides in a room shanty at Otto slum. “Ayo has been staying with me and my family for the past one year,” he said. “Our house is just a shanty because since the fire incident, we are barely surviving here at Otto. Initially, he was going to school, but I cannot cater for his schooling needs for now, because things are tight for me and my family. The boy needs a good home, and his mother is nowhere to be found. Every day, you see him wandering in the community and picking up dirt to eat, until somebody will take pity on him and give him something to eat. So life is hard for the boy and government should not neglect him. Since his father died, we have tried to locate his mother, and his family but no success yet, so government and good people should come and take Ayo to a better home.”

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Good!

Nice!!!!!!! I thank God!

good one, there is always hope

Nigeria is disgusting!

What kind of society watches 4 year olds fend for themselves?. . .and in this same country, there are over a million groups claiming to help abandoned kids.

Everything has failed, Nigeria will never rise up again, I am not being pessimistic, this country is doomed for hades!

The President has a budget to spend 1.5 million for food on a daily basis, I am as sure as hell if this lads parent had 1.5 million, their lives would probably have changed for the better till forever. .

The churches, and mosques have all failed, I will not contribute my kobo to any of em again, when more people like this are out there!

This is really disturbing

violent:

Nigeria is disgusting!

What kind of society watches 4 year olds fend for themselves?. . .and in this same country, there are over a million groups claiming to help abandoned kids.

Everything has failed, Nigeria will never rise up again, I am not being pessimistic, this country is doomed for hades!

The President has a budget to spend 1.5 million for food on a daily basis, I am as sure as hell if this lads parent had 1.5 million, their lives would probably have changed for the better till forever. .

The churches, and mosques have all failed, I will not contribute my kobo to any of em again, when more people like this are out there!

I am happy for the boy, but I am also saddened that this boy is one of thousands of children who have to fend for themselves at such a tender age.