An abandoned I-storey school building at Agbado in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State collapsed on Saturday afternoon during a heavy downpour.
It was gathered that the affected building contained ten classrooms belonging to Agbado District Comprehensive High School in Ifo area of the state.
The building it would be recalled has been abandoned for quite some time with most of the roofing sheets removed, thereby exposing the structure.
The building collapsed after the heavy downpour on Saturday which also damaged some roads in the area.
It was further gathered that the building was donated as one of her constituency projects by former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello while she was representing Ogun Central Senatorial District in the Senate between 2007 and 2011.
A source in the area said that the building had suffered years of neglect after it was abandoned.
The source added that the building was never put to use by the state government.
A resident of the community, Kolawole Adelani, who spoke to newsmen on Sunday, said, the building before it collapsed had posed a serious threat to the lives of the pupils and staff of the school.
Adelani said some residents had called the attention of the state government to the dilapidated state of the school’s infrastructure.
Adelani described the incident as “a long-overdue catastrophe waiting to happen.”
He said, “The building has stood there for more than 15 years, plagued with structural issues.
“Everyone feared that such a tragedy was imminent. Thankfully, no lives were lost.”
The President of the Agbado District Old Students’ Association, Ganiyu Olowu in his reaction lamented that the building collapse had been predicted long before the eventual incident.
Olowu said, “Today (Saturday) during the early afternoon rain, a long stretch of multiple classroom one-storey building collapsed at our Alma Mata, Agbado District Comprehensive High School in Oke Aro.”
He said the alumni association had repeatedly alerted the state Ministry of Education about the deteriorating condition of the building and the potential danger it posed to students.
“As stakeholders working with the state government to ensure holistic education across the state, we drew the attention of the former Commissioner to the state of the building,” he said.
