Anambra Pupils Face Snake Bites, Disease Risks as Bush Swallows School

The compound of Community Primary School, Iyiowa Odekpe, in Ogbaru Local Government Area

By Polycarp Ifeanyi

Pupils and teachers of Community Primary School, Iyiowa Odekpe, in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, are facing potential dangers from snake bites, harmful reptiles and disease-carrying mosquitoes as their school premises have become overgrown with thick bushes and submerged in swampy, waterlogged conditions.

The deplorable state of the only government primary school serving the community has triggered widespread concern among residents, who are appealing to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to urgently intervene and reconstruct the school to provide a safe learning environment for the children.

The Landlords and Residents Association of Iyiowa Odekpe said the condition of the school had become unbearable, leaving pupils and teachers struggling to access the classrooms and exposing them to avoidable environmental hazards.

When our correspondent visited the school alongside the community chairman, Mr Sunday Peter Obinze, and other executives, the extent of the deterioration was evident.

The school, which comprises several classroom blocks constructed in 2010 under the UBE/PN/2010 intervention project, has fallen into a state of severe disrepair.

Thick bushes have overtaken the premises, while swampy and waterlogged conditions have rendered the school environment unsuitable for teaching and learning.

The overgrown vegetation and stagnant water have also heightened concerns about the possible presence of dangerous snakes and other harmful reptiles, as well as mosquitoes that could expose pupils and teachers to diseases.

Speaking with journalists during the visit, Obinze described the situation as unbearable, stressing that the community lacked the financial capacity to undertake the reconstruction of the school.

He disclosed that Governor Soludo had promised during his campaign for a second term in office to reconstruct both the community’s access road and the primary school.

Obinze expressed appreciation to the governor for fulfilling his promise regarding the road, where work was ongoing, but appealed to him to extend the same intervention to the school.

“We are grateful to the governor because he has fulfilled his promise on the road. Work is ongoing as we speak. But we are reminding him that the primary school is still pending. The condition is too terrible for our children in this modern age,” he said.

The community chairman expressed particular concern about the safety of young pupils, noting that children aged eight and nine should not be compelled to learn in an environment where their health and safety could be endangered.

“It is painful to allow children of eight and nine years old to endanger their lives studying in an environment prone to diseases and deadly reptiles. We need the governor’s intervention,” Obinze said.

He recalled that the community had demonstrated its appreciation for the governor’s administration by voting massively for his re-election, adding that Iyiowa Odekpe remained committed to supporting the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the forthcoming general elections.

Obinze’s appeal was reinforced by the community’s secretary-general, Dr Chukwunonso Okoli, who presented a letter previously written to Governor Soludo, formally drawing his attention to the deteriorating condition of the school.

The letter, dated September 18, 2026, and officially acknowledged on September 30, 2026, was signed by the community’s executives and stakeholders.

Copies were sent to the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, the member representing Ogbaru II Constituency, the Commissioner for Education, the Chairman of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), the Mayor of Ogbaru Local Government Area and the Igwe of Odekpe, among other relevant authorities.

Okoli said the continued deterioration of the school was unfair to the children, who deserved a safe and conducive environment in which to acquire an education.

“It is unfair to subject pupils to this kind of danger. These children do not deserve this treatment in this present age,” he lamented.

Also speaking, a community resident, Chief Christopher Mgbike, appealed to the governor to fulfil his promise to reconstruct the school, just as he had commenced work on the access road.

“We thank the governor for the road project, which he promised on the same day he promised the school. We are now begging him to also reconstruct the school. Even teachers find it difficult to enter the classrooms,” Mgbike said.

Other residents, including Mr Loveday Udechukwu Awa and Mrs Esther Igwe, expressed concern over the daily risks pupils and teachers could face in the bushy, waterlogged school environment.

They warned that the conditions could expose the children and their teachers to snake bites and diseases associated with the unsafe environment if urgent steps were not taken to rehabilitate the facility.

The residents appealed to Governor Soludo to intervene in what they described as a pressing educational and humanitarian concern, urging him to consider the plight of the children and ensure that Community Primary School, Iyiowa Odekpe, is reconstructed without further delay.

They stressed that restoring the school would not only improve access to basic education in the community but also protect pupils and teachers from the dangers posed by the neglected premises.