Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu, USA/
He wakes every morning with a dream. The desire to give back to his roots, the solid foundation, a school that moulded him like a porter would a clay pot, with amazing designs that make it stand out as an attractive product.
When Mogan village, Ogun State-born William Olubodun had a near-fatal auto accident in the early 1970s, his parents were grateful to God for sparing his life.
Their gratitude later gave way to sorrow as prolonged prescription of antibiotics by his doctor at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital rendered him permanently deaf.
His grandfather, however, was bent on finding succour for little William, he, therefore, took him to his village Baale’s (Chief) palace for his intervention towards educating the little boy.
That was how Wesley School for the Deaf came into the picture. Little William was enrolled in the school situated in Surulere area of Lagos. He dazzled his family and teachers with his brilliance. He soon passed through the school in a blaze of glory.
William and some of his equally brilliant classmates gained admission to Methodist Boys High School, where they all performed creditably well.
He then proceeded to the United States of America where he continued his studies and has a doctorate degree. Today, he has a good job and a nice family.
With all the accomplishments, however, William still wears a long face. Why? You can ask that question again considering William’s ability in disability.
Answering that question, he said he was unhappy because the school (Wesley) that gave him a solid footing in life has now been reduced to a mere block of classrooms devoid of its past enabling qualities.
William paid a visit to the school about five years ago, hoping to see a better learning environment and contribute his quota. He was shocked to see the school being a ghost of what it used to be.
“The principal could not converse with me in sign language. He had to use the services of a sign language interpreter, which at best shows a lack of motivation for his work. That is termed a downright hostility towards the students.”
The successful alumnus later shared his experience with the Wesley Alumni Association in America.
Dr William Olubodun said he conducted his doctoral dissertation on the topic, ‘The Life Experience of Deaf High School Graduates in Nigeria.’
“Although it was a small phenomenological study, nevertheless, the result shows a sad commentary to the potentials of the majority of the students,” he said.
He added that the school authority did not welcome the Alumni’s involvement in turning the tired school around.
Dr Olubodun noted that the school which was founded in 1956 by a group of friends in Yaba, Lagos, before moving to the Oba of Lagos palace, and to its permanent site in 1962, has been split into two.
The school was reportedly divided into two in 1980 for easy administration.
School One operates in the morning, School Two, in the afternoon.
At inception, Wesley School for the Deaf was established to provide education to hearing-impaired children. To create awareness about the special needs children, by creating enabling environment for the total development of their hearing-impairment, to empower them towards the full realisation of their potentials.
Two of the 1974 graduates of Wesley School for the Deaf, who also attended Methodist Boys High School are PhD holders. Six others have Masters degrees, and there are many with Baccalaureates in various fields. They are all accomplished in their fields in the United States.
Dr Olubodun thought the success trend was broken at the retirement of late Mrs Adelogbe, the first principal who headed the school throughout the 1970s.
Dr Olubodun and other alumni are, therefore, seeking the Federal and Lagos State Government’s intervention in the welfare of the school, which used to have boarding facility until 1967 when the State took it over from the Federal Government.
They want the school to be of international standard, hence seeking collaboration between the governments and the alumni towards turning it around.
They believe renovation of the school, provision of special education teachers, functional hostels, school bus, computers, television sets and DVD for learning will boost the knowledge base of the students.
The alumni also believed that “quality of educational instructions actually began to slip when Chief Adelogbe retired in 1981 or thereabout”.
“Wesley was one of the schools taken over by the Lagos State Government following the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN)’s victory in Lagos State in the 1979 general elections. The last time any Wesley alumnus was accepted at Methodist Boys’ High School coincided with the same event. Since then, Wesley alumni were herded to the Lagos State secondary schools with the former success story of MBHS alumni,” Dr Olubodun said.
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