A Lagos-based businesswoman, Nikky Ufondu, has narrated how she removed her son, Henry, from Dowen College in 2013 after the boy reported to her that some senior students of the college were bullying him and have been receiving constant assaults from them.
Ufondu said that her son, who was 10 years old then and in Junior Secondary School 1 of the college, constantly got beaten by his bullies and also serve unnecessary punishments whenever he fails to produce whatever the senior guys requested.
She alleged that his son’s bullies went as far as seizing provisions, money and whatever they can also obtain from the poor boy to extent of threatening to deal with him should he inform anyone of their actions, whether to the school’s management or his parent.
Ufondu’s narration on her son’s ordeal at the school was coming days after death report of a 12 years old Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, of the Dowen College in Lekki, as a result of bullying hit public and had continue generating condemnations nationwide, both online and offline.
The businesswoman, who spoke extensively over the weekend and also made post of Henry’s bullying ordeal at the Dowen college on her Instagram account, hinted that she was left with no choice than to confront those who had been terrorizing her son on learning of what the innocent boy had been going through.
The mother of three disclosed that she removed her son from the college after first term in JSS1 when she realized that the school management was only concern about school fees it was getting from parents and not bothered about wellbeing of the students in its care.
Ufondu hinted that her son’s case was not different from that of several other kids in the school then facing same bullying challenges and that she made the decision for Henry to leave the college since there was no sign that the school would get any better.
She said: “Henry was 10 years old when he joined the school for JSS classes in 2013, his provision gets finished fast and would request for another set, and since he was scared to ask me directly, he will rather complain to his school mother of not having provision anymore.
This case happened countless times, even when I had just visited him during visiting day and supply him enough provisions and pocket money, just in less than a week, Henry would be asking for another set of provisions and money.
Myself and his father started suspecting him, because we knew something was not right. It took us weeks before our son was able to confess to us what he had been doing with his money and provisions. Those senior boys have put fears in my son with threats to deal with him should he inform him parent or anybody in the school” she also said.
The woman explained that the actions of Henry’s bullies left to the young man removal from the college since the school’s management was not sensitive about what was happening in the school.
Ufondu indicated that there were several parents like her who would not be bothered to listen to their children’s complaints and find out if their kids have challenges they were not sharing as a result of forces beyond their controls.
“I wouldn’t have bothered myself about the seizing of provision and pocket money from Henry but the poor boy informed me of what the senior guys have been doing to him, I have to confront all of them.
“I beat the hell out of all them, one by one, and left my contact for their parents to come and confront me. And that was end of my son in that school”.
“After removing Henry, who is my only son, from the Dowen College, the school management never reached out to me, nor find out why I took my son away from the school, only his teacher who knew of the incident contacted me months after we drew the young man from the school” woman lamented.
“I have to tell the story now maybe it would serve as a lesson to other parents and save several other innocent children currently in same situation since we can no longer trust schools’ management.
I am taking the blame for not sharing my son’s bullying experience on time, maybe if I had spoken long ago after I had removed Henry from the college, maybe Sylvester Oromoni Jnr would have been saved.
“I sympathize with the parent of the innocent boy, he did not deserve to suffer, and may God give the family the fortitude to bear his loss”.
