11th February, 2011
Following the poison scare in public schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday, many parents did not allow their children to go to schools today.
As a result, many of the schools visited in the city recorded a low turnout of students while in some schools, including private ones, the students did not turn up at all.
Investigations revealed that most of the schools where the students did not turn up had instruction from the school authorities not to bother coming to school today.
In some of the schools visited, some classes were merged because of the few students who turned up. Teachers also gather in groups to discuss the ugly development.
The state government through the state Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and other private electronic media has continued to urge the students to resume in their respective schools, stressing that it has no intention to use anybody for sacrifice as being peddled around.
In their separate statements, the Oyo State Commissioner of Education, Nureni Adediran and the Senior Special Adviser on Communication, Dotun Oyelade, described those behind the rumour as opponents of the government whose intention is to smear the good name of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala and other members of his cabinet.
The state capital, Ibadan, was thrown into confusion yesterday when parents stormed public schools to pick their children following rumour that some people loyal to Governor Alao-Akala went to some secondary and primary schools to give students poisoned bean cake, called ‘Akara’ in the local dialect.
In some schools, students said what was distributed was indomie.
The rumour has it that the poisonous ‘akara’ was meant to poison the students and use them for sacrifice.
—Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan