Outrage in Ibadan as Senator moves to seize land meant for Africa’s first university for the deaf

Tension flared in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday as students of the Christian Mission School for the Deaf staged a peaceful protest against what they described as a brazen attempt by a serving senator to take over a 39-acre parcel of land meant for the establishment of Africa’s first university for the deaf.

The protest, which took place at Kilometre 18 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway—the proposed site of the university—saw students carrying placards with emotional appeals to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene.

Some of the placards read: “The deaf have the right to live,” “Please do not snatch our land,” “Don’t punch the deaf in the face,” “Do not oppress the deaf,” and “The deaf are helpless, help us.”

According to the students, the land was acquired by the school in 2005 through donations from families and well-wishers, with the aim of building a comprehensive education centre for the deaf, spanning primary to university levels. However, they said encroachment began in 2018 after the state government allegedly acquired the land without notice.

Dr. Gbenga Idowu, a member of the school’s advisory board, accused a serving senator—identified as Senator Olalekan Afuye—of attempting to take over a significant portion of the land.

“We bought this land in 2005. Trouble started in 2018 when the state government suddenly acquired it despite our proper documentation,” Dr. Idowu said.

“Now, a serving senator wants to forcefully take over the land of poor, defenceless deaf children. Why our land? There are lands everywhere. Why target the most vulnerable among us?”

Dr. Idowu said the Christian Mission School for the Deaf had previously written several letters to the state government appealing for support and protection, but the efforts yielded no result. Instead, he alleged, construction work began on the land last year, prompting the school to seek legal redress.

“After filing our case in court, an injunction was granted to stop further development on the land,” he said. “But the legal process has been repeatedly frustrated by the state government’s legal team, who often fail to show up in court.”

Dr. Idowu added that more encroachment was noticed recently, and when school authorities confronted the workers clearing the land, they claimed Senator Afuye had purchased it from the state government.

“We visited the senator with our lawyer and surveyor, presented all our documents, but he told us to go to the government for clarification,” he said. “This is heartbreaking.”

He further noted that the school, which currently runs primary and secondary schools for the deaf in Ibadan, had outgrown its Onireke GRA campus and needed the larger site to realise its dream of building a vocational and university complex for deaf students from across Nigeria.

“We are not a profit-making organisation. We serve out of love and compassion. We don’t represent any denomination—our students include Christians and Muslims from all over the country,” he said.

“Why are we, who seek only to uplift and empower the deaf, being treated like this by our own government?”

The school’s management and students are now calling on Governor Makinde to urgently intervene.

“We believe in Governor Makinde’s commitment to justice and fairness. We appeal to him to personally investigate this matter and protect the rights and future of these vulnerable children,” Dr. Idowu pleaded.

He emphasized that the land represented a beacon of hope for thousands of deaf children seeking education, dignity, and