Life @ Ago Ireti
Life @ Ago Ireti
By Saheed Ibrahim
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When ever the name of the settlement Ago Ireti (Settlement of Hope) is mentioned, what comes to the mind of an average Akure resident is a picture of isolated humans that are afflicted with leprosy. In Yoruba land, people with leprosy are usually made to live in isolation from others in the mainstream society and they cannot get married let alone make babies due to their health status.
The Hope visited the “Settlement of Hope” to see how life has been and how the residents celebrated the Christmas and The New Year festivals.
It was gathered that life in the settlement may not have been perfect or the same as that of outside world, but the settlement is filled with life and the inhabitants remain hopeful, as the name of the colony implies.
The head of the settlement, Mr Gabriel Ologunagba, who has been an inhabitant in the settlement since 1979, said that successive administrations in the state has been trying for them, to ensure that they are not abandoned.
For the yuletide, he disclosed that the state government presented them with a cow and 10 bags of rice while some good Samaritans also visited the settlement to extend love.
Ologunagba disclosed that the government pays each of the inhabitants N10,000 naira monthly as stipend in order for them to keep body and soul together.
According to him, the money was never enough to cater for their needs within a month but they had to manage it. He also disclosed that some of the inhabitants were into cassava farming while some make cassava flakes (garri) in order to augment the little they are being paid.
He however said that the only setback they suffered during the Christmas and the New Year celebrations was the non-payment of their November and December allowance, which made them depend on the gifts and alms from philanthropists. The Hope gathered that the November stipend has been paid to them.
The spokesperson and the secretary to the settlement, Mr Tunji Oluwatimilehin, who gave the total number of patients in the settlement as 110, gave a periscopic analysis of the general well-being of the inhabitants of the settlement.
Oluwatimilehin said the celebrations was eventful. According to him, with the cow and ten bags of rice from the state Governor, a fowl given to each of the patients by Reverend Sisters from St. Louis and gifts from people who visited the settlement, “You know Christmas has really done itself” (he laughs).
“People also came from outside, Philanthropists gave us rice, some gave us cloth. We thank God in short that we are not isolated and we still celebrated the Christmas in the normal way within ourselves here and God is always with us”, he said.
Commenting on life generally and the welfare of all the inhabitants of the settlements, Oluwatimilehin said “We thank God. This is Ago Ireti where we do have hope that one day, we will end our journey here but our hope in the lord will remain and that one will give us the glory to be with our lord Jesus Christ at the end of our journey in this world. We thank God actually for everything that is happening in this settlement”
Oluwatimilehin disclosed that they have children in primary, secondary, tertiary institutions and some of them are graduates, adding that some of their kids are highly placed individuals in the society.
“They all go to schools. We have some children in the universities. We have graduates of higher institutions. We have doctors, we have engineers, we have agriculturalists and so on. So, we thank God.
“We the patients, we don’t want out children to eat the bitter fruits we are eating at the moment. So we struggle very hard to see that we sponsor our children to school. Education is the only solid foundation to become who and whatever you want to become in this world
On feeding, he explained that their major source of livelihood is the money given to them by the state government as monthly stipend. He added that some of them were into farming but he had never farmed before and he would not venture into it because he did not know how to.
On whether they do go out to beg for alms, Mr Oluwatimilehin disclosed that there had been a standing rule in the settlement that none of them should go out for begging but sometimes, there may be defaulters.
As regards accommodation, Oluwatimilehin told The Hope that each of the 110 patients has a room but he is currently occupying one of the five “self-contain apartments” built by Sister Immaculate in the settlement
On health, The Hope gathered that there is a medical doctor and four nurses who attend to them and had been diligent in their duties so far.
The Hope gathered that the health workers live outside the settlement but always come around to see to the health needs of the patients.
The Hope also gathered that the community hall, a neatly painted hall that can accommodate about 120 people at a time is within the settlement and it is used for prayer meetings, which are held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The hall is also used for other gatherings and purposes, especially when there is an important visitor in the settlement.
The community looks exactly like other communities we have all around. Some of its features are Community hall, ICT centre, medical unit, pipe borne water system, fruit trees and farmlands. Others are well-swept, neat, serene and quiet environment; children playing around in groups; women cooking and engaging in different activities, and an atmosphere filled with hope.