In Omuo-Ekiti, Ekiti State, pupils of Wesley United Primary School no longer spend their mornings learning. Instead, they scoop stagnant water from their classrooms after the school’s roof was completely torn off, leaving the building exposed to rain and dangerously unsafe.
A viral video captures the heartbreaking reality. Children are seen wading through waterlogged rooms while their teachers bend over with buckets, desperately trying to drain the slimy, green pools covering the floor. “We don’t have a roof, we don’t have a classroom, we don’t even have a safe place to stay,” one teacher cries in the video. “Please don’t let this building collapse on us.”
The damaged structure has left both staff and pupils helpless. Instead of teaching, lessons are replaced with hours of scooping floodwater. Teachers say they spent an entire Monday morning bailing water, fearful that the weakened walls and beams could give way at any moment. “Since morning, we’ve done nothing but pack water. We beg for mercy. The roof is gone and we have nowhere to teach these children,” another staff member explained.
Parents and community members describe the situation as a disaster in slow motion. The roofless classrooms are battered by rainfall, while the greenish stagnant water creates serious health risks for children forced to remain in such unhygienic surroundings. “This isn’t a school anymore, it’s a ticking time bomb,” one worried parent said. Another resident added that appeals to local authorities have been ignored for years: “Politicians come, take pictures, and promise to fix it. Nothing ever changes. Now the children are the ones suffering.”
With frustration mounting, residents, parents, and teachers are calling on Governor Biodun Oyebanji to personally visit the school and take immediate action. They are also appealing to the Ministry of Education, international aid groups, and philanthropists to step in where the state has failed.
“If something urgent is not done, one day we will wake up to hear that the building has collapsed on pupils,” a teacher warned. “We are speaking out now because we want to prevent a tragedy before it happens.”