‘We spend our earnings transporting children to school’

Residents of Lokogoma village have appealed to the education authorities of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to establish a school in the community, lamenting that they spend most of their earnings on transporting their children to school. Some of the residents who spoke with Aso Chronicle said the nearest public primary school to the community […]

Residents of Lokogoma village have appealed to the education authorities of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to establish a school in the community, lamenting that they spend most of their earnings on transporting their children to school.
Some of the residents who spoke with Aso Chronicle said the nearest public primary school to the community is in Kabusa, a neighbouring slum town, about five kilometres away.
They lamented that paying transport fare for their children to and from school has affected their finances badly, such that they are left with little amount to carter for their other needs. 
Amwaza Taminu, a resident, said private primary schools in the community charge exorbitant fees, forcing many poor parents to enrol their children in the government school in Kabusa.
He said commercial motorcyclists charge about N200 daily, making them part with more than N1, 000 weekly.
He said in most cases, the children are also given money for food, adding that the money may not be much to some people, but in a community where most people are farmers, it is a huge amount to be spending weekly.
He said he has five children and three of them attend the government school in Kabusa while two are in a privately owned school in the community.
He said while he pays about N30, 000 for the children attending privately owned school, other residents with many children pay more.
He alleged that the owners of more than five private schools in the community are taking advantage of the situation to extort the residents with their exorbitant fees.
He said some parents who cannot afford the transport fare sometimes force their children to trek the far distance.
Another resident, Irimiya Kanpani, said some students also attend secondary school in Galadimawa, which is farther than Kabusa.
He said with an estimated 5,000 residents, the absence of a primary school is detrimental to the development of the community.
Kanpani, who said accessing quality healthcare services was a big challenge for residents of the community,  added that though a private clinic was opened in the community few months ago, the establishment of a government-owned clinic will serve the people better.
Taminu while appealing to the Local Education Authority of the Abuja Municipal Area Council to consider establishing a school in the community, said a primary healthcare centre and a police outpost would also be welcomed.
He said that until a vigilante group was set up in 2011, residents lived in fear.
 Taminu who also heads the vigilante group, said they have arrested more than five suspects that were handed over to the police in Kabusa since its inception.
Though he said the group has been doing its best to maintain peace and security in the community, the establishment of a police outpost would make the community more secured.
He made a case for the vigilante group to be recognised and remunerated by the government.
He explained that the vigilante will be more effective in community policing, which will reduce crime rate drastically.