Abeokuta School Sits On Time Bomb As 15-Year-Old Abandoned Building Threatens Lives

Fear and anxiety have gripped Ikija High School, Abeokuta, as a dilapidated school block abandoned for over 15 years now poses a major threat to students, teachers, and administrative staff.

The crumbling structure, is located close to the which houses the principal’s office and several staff rooms, stands a few meters from administrative building and classrooms where students take lessons daily. 

Cracks run deep along its walls, all sections of the roof have caved in, and rusted iron rods protrude dangerously from broken pillars.

Stakeholders warn that if the building collapses, it could cause “mayhem including claims of lives” and destroy the school’s main administrative facility.

Ikija High School is one of the secondary schools established in 1980 under the administration of former Governor Olabisi Onabanjo. Forty-five years later, it remains the only school from that era in Abeokuta North yet to be split into junior and senior sections, a division common to most of its contemporaries.

“Other schools created at the same time have grown, been renovated, and separated into junior and senior schools. Ikija is still stuck with structures from 1980, many of them now death traps,” said a senior teacher who asked not to be named for fear of victimization.

The Ogun State Government under Governor Dapo Abiodun recently renovated one of the old structures in the school, with a new yellow roof now visible on the compound. But the gesture has done little to calm nerves, as the most dangerous building was untouched.

“They painted one block and put a yellow roof. We appreciate that. But the real danger is the old administrative block. That is what we are crying about,” said Mrs. Funmilayo Adebayo, a parent whose two children attend the school.

The Ikija High School Old Students Association and current school administrators say they have written “several letters” to the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, as well as the Abeokuta North Local Government, seeking urgent intervention to pull down the structure.

“As old students, we have tried. We wrote, we visited, we followed up. No response,” said Mr. Kehinde, a prominent former leader of the Old Students Association. “Are we waiting for it to collapse on our children before government acts? This is not about politics. This is about lives.”

The school administrator, who declined to be named, confirmed the situation: “We have reported this building for years. The cracks keep widening every rainy season. When it rains heavily, we evacuate the administrative block because we don’t know if it will stand. Our fear is that it may not give a warning before it comes down.”

Several parents who spoke with NEWSREPORTER expressed frustration and fear over the ugly development. 

“I drop my son here every morning with my heart in my mouth,” said Mr. Ismail Quadri, a trader at Itoku Market. “That building is shaking. If it falls during school hours, God forbid, how many children will die? How many teachers? The government should not wait for tragedy.”

A JSS 3 student who gave her name only as Tolu said: “We are scared to pass near it. Our teachers tell us not to play close to the building. But the principal’s office is inside. So what do we do?”

Another old student, Mrs. Rashidat Ogundele, Class of 1994, said the neglect is painful. “This school gave us foundation. Now it is decaying. We are ready as old students to support, but government must first remove this danger. You cannot ask us to renovate a building that should be demolished.”

Stakeholders are asking the Ogun State Government and Abeokuta North Local Government to act immediately: cordon off the building, demolish it, and provide a temporary administrative space for the principal and staff.

“We are not asking for a new school today,” Mr. Sofolahan added. “We are saying remove the danger first. Save lives first. Then we can talk about rebuilding.”

Building experts say the structure has failed and is beyond repair. 

“From what you describe 15 years abandoned, exposed rods, major cracks, roof collapse that building is structurally compromised,” said Engr. Ayo Bamidele, a civil engineer in Abeokuta. “It requires urgent demolition. Every day it stands is a risk. If it collapses during school hours, you are looking at a major disaster.”

Efforts to get official reaction from the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology were unsuccessful as of press time.

For now, classes continue at Ikija High School where a building that students, teachers, and parents say could come down any day is still standing.