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.
“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.
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