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| Tanimola |
About 13 years ago, Samuel Tanimola ran
away from home in Ifo, Ogun State, at the age of 10 years. He came to
Lagos and settled down in Dopemu area of the state.
Tanimola, who is now a vulcaniser, told our correspondent that he was fed up with the living condition at home.
However, things were not as easy as he
had hoped. He had no friend and knew nobody in the new place he found
himself, yet he had to feed.
Tanimola joined hordes of street
children roaming the streets and feeding through the use of their wits
until he was eventually arrested by the Environmental Task force on
Special Offences in 2004.
He said, “I ran away because I was not happy at home; it was a polygamous setting and my mum was not living with us.
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“Although things were tough on the
street, it was better than home. I even tried to escape when the police
raided Dopemu that day. They grabbed as many of us as they could lay
hands on and took us to the remand home at Oregun. I was so scared that I
imagined the worst.”
For two years, Tanimola remained at the
Oregun Juvenile Centre under close supervision without any contact with
the outside world.
Then in March 2006, Tanimola was
transferred to the Correctional Centre for Senior Boys, Isheri, where he
stayed another three years.
He said, “The centre at Isheri was much
better than the one in Oregun. We were allowed to go out and then return
to the centre. But at Oregun, we could not go out. It was while I was
staying at Isheri that I decided to learn a trade and become a
vulcanizer. I have no interest in school.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that Tanimola was
reunited with his family in 2009. His father did not, however, return to
the centre after his first visit until November 2010, when his son was
formally empowered to become self reliant.
Now 23 years, Tanimola plies his trade
at the Vehicle Inspection Office at Ojodu, a place which he secured
through the efforts of a permanent secretary at the Lagos State Ministry
of Youths, Sports and Social Development.
He said, “I have moved out of the
centre; I now live at Akute. Business is good; there are just two of us
here. On a good day, I make as much as N5,000; sometimes N3,000, and on
some days, nothing at all.
“On the whole, I can take care of myself. I used to think that it was over for me but now I am happy.”
The Special Adviser to Lagos State
Governor on Youths, Sports and Social Development, Dr. Enitan Badru,
said, “About 10 to 20 children come into our correctional centres
monthly- most of them minors, caught roaming the streets or even
committing crimes. Those caught committing crimes, usually face the
justice system.
“These children often run away from home
or were brought to Lagos by relatives. Others, fed up with life in the
village, heard of a place called Lagos and got into a bus to come here,
sleeping under the bridges and motor parks.
“When these children are brought in, we
try to trace their families and reunite them. When we are not able to do
that, we go to the courts and secure the right to keep the child and
find the best means to help the child live a fulfilled life.”
He said Tanimola was an example of the fact that street children could be made to become useful citizens with love and patience.
-Punch
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