“One of the basic needs of human beings is shelter. Little wonder why much priority is easily placed on the need for a man to build his own house or a structure he can boastfully call his own. This is believed not to only provide shelter but the commensurate security, safety and comfort for the owner”.
However, in a twist of fate to the above maxim, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education (AIFCE) Owerri seems not to align itself with the basic welfare of students living in the ramshackle Shell Camp which is shelter. The ugly and unfortunate incident that took place in Shell Camp early this week had laid concrete credence to the allegation that most of the education authorities and not necessarily the government, are the bane of our society and students.
The attention of Campus Voice was once again attracted to the Alvan community, when a victim of the building demolition exercise carried out by AIFCE authorities reported the incident to us and how her property was, worst still, her documents which is the backbone of her membership in Alvan were completely bulldozed.
Lamenting, the victim of his ugly traumatic incident, Miss Vivian Obiukwu told Campus Voice that the exercise took the habitants of the place by surprise or better still by sudden as the coming of the caterpillar wasn’t heralded. She decried the level of inhuman treatment meted out to her as she has automatically become not only homeless but helpless.
“I got a phone call from my friend while I was still in school informing me that my house was about to be brought down by a caterpillar, I left all that I was doing including my lectures and rushed back home, but behold my neigbours house has been crushed. In a state of dilemma, I couldn’t understand the true situation of things and why the house must be crushed without prior notice. I was still in a reflective thought when the caterpillar faced towards the direction of my house, that brought me to reality and I began to plead with the caterpillar driver to exercise patience while I pick few things with my school file at the back of my mind, the caterpillar man boldly told me that he was working with time and before I could say jack, my house was reduced to the minimum level of rubbles leaving me with nothing to call my own. If not for the little money I had in my purse, I would have begged for transportation back home” said Vivian to Campus Voice.
Adding his voice, another victim by name Igwe Kingsley equally lamented about the brutal measure the management of the college inflicted on them. He said that even though they were told to vacate the vicinity some months ago, it wasn’t enough reason to destroy people’s property when one considers that such warning wasn’t repeated. An attempt to talk to the Provost, Dr. Mrs. Ijioma was equally rebuffed when her staff scolded our reporters for being inquisitive over something that never concerned us.
