Inside Lagos abandoned special children’s centre where reptiles, dogs thrive

Source: TodayFeedsMedia


Ketu Special Children’s Centre located in Mile 12 in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State was built under the administration of Babatunde Fashola to cater to children with special needs in the community and its environs. 13 years after its establishment, PUNCH Healthwise investigations show that successive governments abandoned the centre, leaving parents to bear the burden of raising these special children alone. SODIQ OJUROUNGBE reports

Temilade ( not real name) born with cerebral palsy is now confined to her home. She spends her days in a state of limbo, unable to communicate or care for herself. Her once bright eyes have dulled, and her small frame is now weak.

Temilade’s condition has deteriorated rapidly since the government shut down the Ketu Special Children’s Centre, where she used to receive specialised care and therapy.

Before the home was shut down, Temilade, 16,  would eagerly wait by the door every morning, she knew that the sound of the government bus rumbling down the street signaled the start of another day of adventure and learning at the Ketu Special Children’s Centre.



The bus, a familiar sight in the Ikorodu neighbourhood where she lives, would arrive promptly at 8 am, its doors swinging open to reveal a cheerful driver and a team of caregivers who would escort Temilade and her peers with a similar disability to the home.

PUNCH Healthwise gathered that the home was built at the Mile 12 area to make it accessible for the large population of children with special needs around Ikorodu, Ketu, and Bariga in the Kosofe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas of the state.

At the centre, Temilade received speech therapy to help her communicate more effectively, physiotherapy to improve her mobility and coordination, and occupational therapy to help her develop daily living skills.

As a result of the therapy and care she received, the 16-year-old, who was nine at the time, had started to communicate more effectively, using a combination of words and gestures to express herself. She had also become more mobile, able to move around with greater ease and independence.

But all of that changed when the government announced that the Ketu Special Children’s Centre would be shut down citing structural defects. The news came as a shock to Temilade’s mother, a single parent who had relied on the home to provide her daughter with the care and support she needed.

As the months turned into years, Temilade’s mother struggled to care for her daughter without any form of support. She had to lock Temilade up every day, just so she could go out and work to provide for her needs.

Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, the national president of the Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of Nigeria, Mrs Joko Dawodo-Omotola, said the government’s decision to shut down the home was devastating for Temilade and her family.

Without access to the therapy and care she needed, the AIDDN president lamented that Temilade’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly. Her muscles stiffened, her mobility decreased, and her ability to communicate effectively began to slip away.

“It is heartbreaking to see her like this, knowing that she was once thriving and making progress at home,” Dawodo-Omotola lamented.

Left to die

Muiz was discovered on the streets, an abandoned child with no one to care for him. Both of his legs were crippled, leaving him unable to walk.

His life on the streets had been brutal, marked by isolation, suffering, and neglect. He was eventually taken to Massey Children’s Hospital, a place where many children in similar circumstances end up. It was there that his journey took a turn, not for the better, but for survival.

The hospital, although a place of care, could not offer the specialised treatment he needed. Muiz was reportedly left to languish, trapped in a cycle of hopelessness.

When Elsie Akerele first heard about Muiz, she took him into the Atinuke Oyindamola Memorial Home, hoping that with the right care and attention, he could begin to heal.

It was a compassionate decision, but one fraught with challenges. The home, though filled with love and care, was severely underfunded and lacked many of the medical resources necessary to treat a child in Muiz’s condition.

Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, Akerele stated that the Ketu Special Children’s Centre would have been a better facility to care for Muiz if only it was still in operation.

She lamented that despite their efforts, many of the children, like Muiz, face serious medical challenges, and some have passed away because there were no resources to provide them with the right care and support that they need to thrive despite being born with disabilities.

Like Temilade and Muiz, many children with special needs, who once received care at the Ketu Special Children’s Centre are now battling for survival in the hands of their parents who often treat them with disdain due to poor knowledge about their condition.

While some, like Temilade, were fortunate to have parents who did their best to care for them, others like Muiz were abandoned when their caregivers could no longer cope.

PUNCH Healthwise gathered that this neglect has led to the deaths of many children, with some becoming the subject of ridicule in markets and public places.

Across the country, there is a severe lack of adequate services for children with special needs, with many parents left to fend for them alone.

An investigation by our correspondent revealed that the government’s abandonment of facilities like the Ketu Special Children’s Centre has deeply impacted families with children with special needs who depended on the centre for their children’s care and welfare.

Built to serve, abandoned in silence

The Ketu Special Children’s Centre was officially commissioned on February 10, 2011, by the former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, with the vision of providing care, support, and specialised services to children with physical disabilities, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The facility, an initiative of the former deputy governor of the state, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, was designed as a state-of-the-art centre with an impressive collection of amenities, including therapy rooms for speech, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, as well as a clinic, mini stadium, and vocational training spaces.

The care home was intended to offer not just therapy, but a holistic approach to the care of children with special needs, with plans for a vocational centre to equip them with skills for a brighter future.

For six years, PUNCH Healthwise gathered that the centre was a lifeline for many children and families in Lagos, particularly those from Ketu, Bariga, Ikorodu, and other parts of the state.

It was learnt that the facility offered a structured environment where children could receive the therapy they needed to improve their mobility, communication, and overall quality of life.

For parents, many of whom were single mothers or from low-income households, the centre provided a much-needed rescue, allowing them to work or take care of other responsibilities, knowing their children were being cared for by professionals.

However, despite the initial promise and success of the facility, our correspondent gathered that the centre’s fate began to shift with the change in government leadership.

Findings from multiple sources revealed that under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, the Ketu Special Children’s Centre was transferred from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.

https://punchng.com/inside-lagos-abandoned-special-childrens-centre-where-reptiles-dogs-thrive/


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