VIDEO: Rivers students brave floodwater on wooden planks to get to school

Students at Community Secondary School, Rumuapara, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State are learning in a flooded environment. The school has broken buildings and makeshift wooden bridges connecting different sections, according to videos shared on Facebook.

The video, posted on Monday by a Facebook user called Naza Media, shows students walking on narrow wooden bridges without railings. This puts them at risk of falling into the dirty water below.

Many school buildings have cracks, while some classrooms lack doors and windows. In one classroom, floodwater covers parts of the floor. The school toilet and nearby areas are also underwater, with greenish water and discarded sachets floating on top.

“Look at where children are learning. Water, everywhere is messed up. We can’t keep on begging you,” the narrator said, speaking to the Rivers State Government.

“Today is 14 September, and their classroom board shows what they’ve learned today. They’ve written the date. What does all this mean?” He described the school as one of the worst he had seen in Rivers.

“Look at cracked buildings. Parents would think their children went to school to learn, not knowing it is a trap house,” he said.

The school environment taken over by floodwater

The video also showed construction chippings brought to the school to fill parts of the flooded premises. “People who are coming to learn, their lives are at risk,” the narrator said. “Everywhere is totally blocked. Imagine the kind of insects that will be breeding in this water.”

The person who recorded the video is not identified. His Facebook profile shows he is Naza Media. The post received over 2,600 comments and 220 shares by the time this report was written.

Students speak

The narrator returned to the school on Tuesday during school hours. He spoke with students in purple and white uniforms. When asked if they were happy with the school conditions, the students replied, “No,” in unison.

The narrator said the students told him snakes had been killed in the school several times. Some classes have been combined due to a lack of space. The video showed students playing on a veranda while floodwater covered much of the school grounds. Some areas of the water appeared greenish from algae.

Chairman speaks

Gift Worlu, the Obio/Akpor Local Government Chairman, told PREMIUM TIMES that he knows about the situation and has checked the school himself. “I am aware of the school’s condition. I went for an on-site inspection myself, and I have since escalated the matter to the State Secondary Board,” Mr Worlu said.

He said the flooding is too much for the council to handle and needs help from the state government. The school sits on low land where water from the surrounding areas collects naturally.

“The topography of that place is such that it happens to be the lowest land around that area, so all the water coming from other areas finds its way to that place,” he said. Mr Worlu said filling the school grounds could just move the flooding problem elsewhere.

He mentioned a geological survey to find the best way to drain the water, while the State Secondary Board is looking at the school's infrastructure issues. “The flood challenge there is very enormous,” he said. Authorities are thinking about building a canal to direct water from the area to Rumuokoro.

He blamed the bigger drainage issue partly on natural waterways being blocked by new developments. Mr Worlu said the flooding has been a problem for many years. When asked why railings could not be put on the makeshift bridges to help students, he said such a solution would only provide temporary relief.

“There is no quick fix to the challenge. We just have to manage for now until the dry season. Putting a rail would only provide temporary relief but would not solve the problem,” he said.

The chairman also said he has not spoken directly with the state education commissioner about the school but has reported it to the Rivers State Secondary Education Board, which handles such matters and informs the commissioner.

Call for Fubara’s intervention

In a separate Facebook post, the narrator asked the Rivers State Government, Ministry of Education, and other authorities to help. “This is a school. A government secondary school where children are expected to learn, grow and prepare for their future,” he wrote.

“These are not just walls and classrooms. These are the future leaders of Rivers State.” He also called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Mr Worlu, and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who is from the area, to look into the situation.