Ketu Special Children’s Centre located in Mile 12 in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State was built under the administration of Babatunde Fashola to cater to children with special needs in the community and its environs. 13 years after its establishment, TheNigerian Healthwise investigations show that successive governments abandoned the centre, leaving parents to bear the burden of raising these special children alone. SODIQ OJUROUNGBE reports
Temilade ( not real name) born with cerebral palsy is now confined to her home. She spends her days in a state of limbo, unable to communicate or care for herself. Her once bright eyes have dulled, and her small frame is now weak.
Temilade’s condition has deteriorated rapidly since the government shut down the Ketu Special Children’s Centre, where she used to receive specialised care and therapy.
Before the home was shut down, Temilade, 16, would eagerly wait by the door every morning, she knew that the sound of the government bus rumbling down the street signaled the start of another day of adventure and learning at the Ketu Special Children’s Centre.
The bus, a familiar sight in the Ikorodu neighbourhood where she lives, would arrive promptly at 8 am, its doors swinging open to reveal a cheerful driver and a team of caregivers who would escort Temilade and her peers with a similar disability to the home.
TheNigerian Healthwise gathered that the home was built at the Mile 12 area to make it accessible for the large population of children with special needs around Ikorodu, Ketu, and Bariga in the Kosofe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas of the state.
At the centre, Temilade received speech therapy to help her communicate more effectively, physiotherapy to improve her mobility and coordination, and occupational therapy to help her develop daily living skills.
As a result of the therapy and care she received, the 16-year-old, who was nine at the time, had started to communicate more effectively, using a combination of words and gestures to express herself. She had also become more mobile, able to move around with greater ease and independence.
But all of that changed when the government announced that the Ketu Special Children’s Centre would be shut down citing structural defects. The news came as a shock to Temilade’s mother, a single parent who had relied on the home to provide her daughter with the care and support she needed.
As the months turned into years, Temilade’s mother struggled to care for her daughter without any form of support. She had to lock Temilade up every day, just so she could go out and work to provide for her needs.
Speaking with TheNigerian Healthwise, the national president of the Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of Nigeria, Mrs Joko Dawodo-Omotola, said the government’s decision to shut down the home was devastating for Temilade and her family.
Without access to the therapy and care she needed, the AIDDN president lamented that Temilade’s condition began to deteriorate rapidly. Her muscles stiffened, her mobility decreased, and her ability to communicate effectively began to slip away.
“It is heartbreaking to see her like this, knowing that she was once thriving and making progress at home,” Dawodo-Omotola lamented.
Left to die
Muiz was discovered on the streets, an abandoned child with no one to care for him. Both of his legs were crippled, leaving him unable to walk.
His life on the streets had been brutal, marked by isolation, suffering, and neglect. He was eventually taken to Massey Children’s Hospital, a place where many children in similar circumstances end up. It was there that his journey took a turn, not for the better, but for survival.
The hospital, although a place of care, could not offer the specialised treatment he needed. Muiz was reportedly left to languish, trapped in a cycle of hopelessness.
When Elsie Akerele first heard about Muiz, she took him into the Atinuke Oyindamola Memorial Home, hoping that with the right care and attention, he could begin to heal.
It was a compassionate decision, but one fraught with challenges. The home, though filled with love and care, was severely underfunded and lacked many of the medical resources necessary to treat a child in Muiz’s condition.
Speaking with TheNigerian Healthwise, Akerele stated that the Ketu Special Children’s Centre would have been a better facility to care for Muiz if only it was still in operation.
She lamented that despite their efforts, many of the children, like Muiz, face serious medical challenges, and some have passed away because there were no resources to provide them with the right care and support that they need to thrive despite being born with disabilities.
Like Temilade and Muiz, many children with special needs, who once received care at the Ketu Special Children’s Centre are now battling for survival in the hands of their parents who often treat them with disdain due to poor knowledge about their condition.
While some, like Temilade, were fortunate to have parents who did their best to care for them, others like Muiz were abandoned when their caregivers could no longer cope.
TheNigerian Healthwise gathered that this neglect has led to the deaths of many children, with some becoming the subject of ridicule in markets and public places.
Across the country, there is a severe lack of adequate services for children with special needs, with many parents left to fend for them alone.
An investigation by our correspondent revealed that the government’s abandonment of facilities like the Ketu Special Children’s Centre has deeply impacted families with children with special needs who depended on the centre for their children’s care and welfare.
Built to serve, abandoned in silence
The Ketu Special Children’s Centre was officially commissioned on February 10, 2011, by the former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, with the vision of providing care, support, and specialised services to children with physical disabilities, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The facility, an initiative of the former deputy governor of the state, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, was designed as a state-of-the-art centre with an impressive collection of amenities, including therapy rooms for speech, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, as well as a clinic, mini stadium, and vocational training spaces.
The care home was intended to offer not just therapy, but a holistic approach to the care of children with special needs, with plans for a vocational centre to equip them with skills for a brighter future.
For six years, TheNigerian Healthwise gathered that the centre was a lifeline for many children and families in Lagos, particularly those from Ketu, Bariga, Ikorodu, and other parts of the state.
It was learnt that the facility offered a structured environment where children could receive the therapy they needed to improve their mobility, communication, and overall quality of life.
For parents, many of whom were single mothers or from low-income households, the centre provided a much-needed rescue, allowing them to work or take care of other responsibilities, knowing their children were being cared for by professionals.
However, despite the initial promise and success of the facility, our correspondent gathered that the centre’s fate began to shift with the change in government leadership.
Findings from multiple sources revealed that under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, the Ketu Special Children’s Centre was transferred from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to the Ministry of Youth and Social Development.
Along with the transfer, TheNigerian Healthwise gathered that the state government announced the closure of the facility in 2017, citing structural defects just six years after its commissioning. It claimed the centre required significant renovations.
The AIDDN president told our correspondent that the children, including those from areas like Ketu and Ikorodu, were sent to a facility in Yaba, far from home and difficult to access, especially for families with children in wheelchairs.
It was learnt that the Yaba centre was already overcrowded, and many families could not afford the transportation costs.
For many parents, the logistical challenges were simply too great. Unable to bear the expenses of travel, therapy, and medical care, many families were reportedly forced to keep their children at home, where their conditions worsened.
Dawodo-Omotola lamented that with no access to the therapies the children once received, their conditions have deteriorated.
“Muscles have stiffened, and mobility has become a distant memory. Therapies that could have helped were abandoned, and the families who once had hope for their children’s progress now find themselves in a cycle of despair,” she stated.
Now in ruins
Our correspondent, pretending to work for an NGO, visited the abandoned centre and discovered that what was once a sanctuary for children like Temilade is now forgotten and left in neglect.
It was observed that the compound is now overrun with weeds and overgrown grasses, leaving behind the remnants of what was once a vibrant space.
During the visit, lawns, where children once played and laughed together, are now home for reptiles and dogs. The facility is unrecognizable and consumed by nature’s relentless advance.
The buildings, once full of activity, now stand empty. The paint on the walls has faded, the windows are shattered, and the doors hang crookedly on their hinges, giving the impression of a place long forsaken.
The mini stadium, once the heart of recreational activities for the children, is now a ghostly expanse of cracked concrete, overtaken by weeds.
The goalposts, once a place of endless games and joyful laughter, now stand like skeletal remnants, casting a shadow over the memories of happier times.
The beds that once provided rest and comfort to the children now lay in a state of ruin. Worn-out mattresses, sagging from years of use, sighted by TheNigerian Healthwise were scattered across the rooms, their fabric torn and stained.
Inside, the therapy rooms are now empty and silent. The speech therapy room, where children like Temilade learned to communicate, stands bare, lacking the care it once had.
It was also discovered that the physiotherapy room, which once helped children walk and move, is now a dusty space, a reminder of progress lost. The occupational therapy room, where children learned life skills, is now cluttered with broken equipment.
The clinic, which once provided medical care, is now deserted. The examination tables sit empty, covered in dust, their purpose is forgotten. The once caring atmosphere of the clinic is now replaced by neglect.
Reacting to the terrible state of the home, the AIDDN president expressed her frustration, describing the once-thriving centre as a beacon of hope for children with special needs.
She lamented, “You know, for intellectual and developmental disabilities, there are paramount needs, especially when it comes to health needs is the therapy. All of them have to go through therapy. Whether you are CP, or you have Down syndrome, or you’re autistic, or you have dyslexia, or you have the AHDA, no matter the one you have, you have to go through therapy. And all these facilities were there. And there is no other centre, except for Modupe Cole. They knew Modupe Cole could not accommodate any other person, and that was why they sent them to Yaba.
“So, these children, their bones, all the bones they were working on, they have now become stiff. And then with age, we are starting all over again the therapies for them. And it is not for all of them, because it involves money.
“You have to pay for the therapies, you have to buy the assistive devices that are needed to complement whatever therapy that you are assessing in the hospital. And then we should not forget about their monthly medications, which are very expensive. Some of them are on medication, and it lasts for a month. About three years ago, they were paying about N35,000 for the pills, on the tablets that they will use. Each child, and we’re talking of indigent parents, who are mostly single parents.
“So, you can see the hardship. At the end of the day, they stopped doing the therapy. Because even if you have somebody who has paid for your therapy, what about the transportation of taking the child from your home to the hospital, that is another problem.
She further said, “And you know our hospitals in Nigeria, when they give you appointments, whether they will attend to you at 12 or 1 p.m., you still have to be there before 7 a.m. That’s the peak period. You can’t even struggle much with anybody. And then when you want to take a cab, it will be very expensive because of other people that are going to their various offices. That’s the peak period, and very expensive.
“So, they rather keep their children at home. And the children, they are still at home now. You keep somebody at home for seven years, the therapies, the exercises you were doing, you stopped it. And then the age; at that time, the parents could even carry them, but now they can’t even lift them.
“And there is nobody to continue with the therapy because they cannot afford the cost it involves. It’s not only the cost of the therapy but the cost of even taking the child to the place where the therapies will be assessed.
“So, it’s very depressing for you to know that governments took an initiative and they stopped along the line, and they ruined the lives of the children. Because they are just at home there, nobody took care of them.”
On how this contributed to the abandoning of children with special needs, Dawodu-Omotola explained, “Our children are really suffering. The child is kept alone in the house, locked up. There are many of them like that. But if that centre was there, that child would be there. The mother will so much plan her work to ensure that it is only the time the child is away that she goes to work. She will look for flexible work that will enable her to do that quickly and get back home to receive the child when the bus brings the child.
“But now the child is just there and then they can die from anything. There could be an emergency, nobody to attend to them and then they die.
“So, it has also led to instances of some of them dying mysteriously. Yes, we have had some of them dead, about two of them in the Ketu. But I have not really found out if they were attending that school before.
“But I want to believe, probably they were because they live very close to the school. But we’ve recorded cases of children dying at home because I said they’re single parents and they’re single mothers. If they’re single fathers, you know men, they know how to struggle to make ends meet, but for women, it is worse.”
Terrible stories
Every two weeks, in the early hours of the morning, a mother from a remote area of Ikorodu prepares her child with cerebral palsy for a journey that is as exhausting as it is heartbreaking.
She carefully positions her child in a wheelchair, her heart heavy with the knowledge of the many struggles ahead. Her destination, National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, one of the few places in Lagos where her child can receive the treatment he desperately needs. But this trip isn’t as simple as a visit to a hospital. It’s a logistical nightmare, a financial burden, and a journey that she has to make with borrowed money and a heavy heart.
For this mother, every trip is a reminder of her struggles. To get to Igbobi from her home in Ikorodu, which is far from the central area, she must hire a taxi driver for N35,000 each way.
But despite these challenges, she’s made a promise to her child: no matter how much it costs, she will do everything in her power to help him get better. She borrowed money, hoping that the surgery he needed could happen soon.
When she told the partners about his condition and the need for surgery on his bones, they were ready to assist, but the process was not as simple as she hoped.
When they arrived at Igbobi, the hospital told her that they would not accept the recommendations from Ikorodu General Hospital.
Everything had to start from scratch. She had to re-register and go through the entire process again, including assessment, therapy, and eventually, the surgery. This added to her already heavy financial burden.
But she didn’t give up. She begged and pleaded, knowing that her child’s future depended on it. Her determination paid off: after months of waiting, the surgery was approved, but the cost was more than she had anticipated.
It felt like a never-ending battle. But in her heart, she knew that if the Ketu Special Home had still been open, her son would have been receiving the therapies and support he needed all along. Perhaps the surgery wouldn’t even have been necessary if the right treatments had been given earlier.
Far from the daily struggles of a single mother, there was a father trying to do everything he could for his daughter, a young woman who is in her mid-twenties and fighting for a future that feels out of reach.
Our correspondent gathered that this young woman has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her movement and coordination.
Her father, a man worn thin by years of caring for his daughter and trying to keep his family together, had promised her that he would find a way to get her to Igbobi Hospital for this crucial appointment. But in the week leading up to it, things went wrong. He couldn’t come up with the necessary funds to pay for the N15,000 taxi fare that was needed to get her to the hospital.
The president of AIDDN told TheNigerian Healthwise that she felt compelled to help the single father financially after he reached out to her, explaining that he had no other option.
She argued that if the care home was still intact, the father wouldn’t have to desperately search for money just to afford a simple taxi ride.
Govt abandons children with special needs
There have been growing allegations that the Lagos State government, in its failure to properly care for children with disabilities, has taken to allegedly dumping some of these children in private care homes, especially those who require costly and intensive care.
TheNigerian Healthwise gathered that this disturbing practice, allegedly carried out by the government, has resulted in many care facilities being left to shoulder the responsibility of caring for children with disabilities without the necessary resources or support from the authorities. This means that while these facilities are forced to take in children in need, they are not provided with the financial assistance, medical support, or infrastructure required to properly care for them.
One of the private care homes where the government allegedly dumped some of the children with special needs is the Atinuke Oyindamola Memorial Home, operated by Elsie Akerele.
According to Akerele, there are instances where children, particularly those with severe disabilities, are brought to her facility under the pretence of needing care, only for it to later become clear that they are effectively being abandoned there by government officials.
She stressed that her home, which has been providing care to children with disabilities for over 30 years, often becomes a dumping ground for children who the government deems ‘too costly’ to care for.
She lamented that in many of the cases, there are no records, background information, or explanation for the child’s arrival.
Speaking with our correspondent, the septuagenarian noted that many of these children require medical care that she cannot afford, lamenting that this has further compounded the burden placed on her and her home.
For Akerele, the core issue is not just the physical abandonment of these children but also the lack of responsibility taken by the government in providing ongoing support.
She said she had to provide for the children’s medical bills, educational expenses, food, clothing, and shelter without governmental assistance.
“I discovered that many of those who were not manageable among them were the ones the government brought to me.
“Government are not doing enough at all for the people with disabilities.
They go to other countries and see the amenities available for people with disabilities. Why don’t they introduce such a thing here?
“They (government) prefer taking the abandoned to our side, rather than the government taking the responsibility. I struggle for the salary; running up and down. I am 73, and still on the road, I am begging.
“So, that is just the thing. We just pray that God will touch their hearts so that they will do more. When there is an anniversary of Christmas or a birthday, they do donate to us. But then, we are not going to wait for our birthday before we eat here. We are not going to wait for an electoral campaign before we go to the hospital. We have daily needs. They need to do better,” she noted.
Corroborating her, the CEO of the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria, Rose Mordi lamented that many care homes are forced to take on enormous financial and emotional burdens without any meaningful government intervention.
Modi, who has long been involved with children’s welfare initiatives, noted some of these children were abandoned by their families and left at the mercy of organisations that are already overwhelmed.
She added, “The government is not really interested in supporting those who are helping society by taking care of these children who have been neglected for so long, especially children who have disabilities. A lot of families abandoned them.
“A lot of people would either sometimes outrightly kill the children. I have heard stories like that because they can’t afford to take care of the needs of these children, they just kill them.
“Some of these homes or orphanages or care homes are inadequately run because they don’t have the funds to take care of these children. So whatever happens to the children, nobody cares. And I hear that most of these children die due to inadequate funds to take care of their needs.
“The only thing the government would do is to send their social workers to go and look at the places without offering any support and then see where they can dump more children. And my friend who runs a home in Badagry told me that she had told them outrightly that she’s not taking any more because already it’s overcrowded, totally overcrowded. And she’s looking for funds.
“She’s not young, just like me. But because she’s passionate about it and she wants to help, she goes around looking for people to support her to take care of these children, but it is not an easy task.”
Police reject children with special needs
Speaking further, Akerele raised the alarm over an alleged police’s refusal to assist children with special needs, particularly those who have been abandoned or neglected.
She revealed that on several occasions, families and organisations attempting to bring abandoned children with special needs to the police for help have been met with rejection.
Citing a recent case of an abandoned child dump at her facility, Akerele said, “When I went to the police to complain and also for them to be able to do proper documentation, they did not answer me; they asked me to just take the abandoned child away without any proper documentation. Society continues to discriminate against these children and it is quite unfortunate.
“Many times, when we bring these children to the police stations after they’ve been abandoned, the officers turn them away. It’s a sad and alarming trend. The police, who are supposed to be the first point of contact for vulnerable children, especially those who are abandoned, always refuse to take action, they are unconcerned.”
Stakeholders call for reactivation of the home
Stakeholders in the care of children with disabilities are calling on Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to take immediate action to reactivate the abandoned children’s home in Ketu, which was originally established to cater to the needs of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The advocates and caregivers in the disability sector expressed concern over the growing neglect faced by children with disabilities in the state.
They urged the governor to take responsibility for reactivating the Ketu facility, highlighting the urgent need for a dedicated space where children with special needs can receive the care, attention, and support they deserve.
The AIDDN president called on the state government to fulfill its promise and create a comprehensive support system for children with special needs.
Dawodu-Omotola expressed frustration with the lack of action following the governor’s initial commitment.
She stated, “Three years is enough time to rehabilitate the facility, yet nothing has been done. We are calling on the government to reactivate the home in Ketu, as it was meant to cater to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the region, including Kosofe, Bariga, and Ikorodu, where many children with special needs are currently isolated due to the lack of accessible services.”
The AIDDN president emphasised that the site reserved for persons with intellectual disabilities should be transformed into a fully functional centre.
“We need educational facilities, healthcare, and vocational training opportunities for these children. These children have been excluded from society for too long, with little access to education, health services, or vocational training.
“Children with intellectual disabilities cannot be taught the same way as other children. Their IQ and learning methods differ, and that’s why they require special training.
“We need vocational hubs where these children can learn practical skills like carpentry, hospitality, or car washing. These are fields where they can excel and support themselves for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Dawodu-Omotola also pointed out that there is a need for specialised trainers who understand the unique needs of children with intellectual disabilities.
“Without trained professionals who are patient and experienced in working with these children, vocational training programs cannot succeed. We need skilled teachers who know how to engage with these children and impart meaningful skills to them,” she stressed.
On her part, Mordi stressed that the reactivation of the Ketu facility would not only provide immediate relief to the children currently without proper care but also serve as a model for inclusive care for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state.
She argued, “It is the responsibility of the government to take care of them, set up a well-established facility to take these children in. Like the one that the former deputy governor started, it could have been a very good initiative because this is what obtains in more advanced countries and so on.
“Maybe if you put it out there, probably the government would begin to look into it and rise to its responsibility. The question is why did they abandon the facility in Ketu? Because that’s a question that the government needs to answer.
“A lot of money was sunk in there to set it up. And also at the time, the then-deputy governor had a lot of support from the corporate world. And I think there was a lot of equipment that was donated. And then she put together a very formidable medical team to give free services to these children. But the whole facility had been abandoned. The question is why? When these children need a place like that.”
Also speaking, the founder of Atinuke Oyindamola Memorial Home noted that without adequate support from the government, the challenges facing children with disabilities will continue to grow, leaving them at risk of further abandonment, neglect, and exploitation.
Govt keeps mum
When contacted, the Director of Rehabilitation for the Lagos Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Oke said the care home does not fall under her department’s jurisdiction.
She directed our correspondent to the Director of Public Affairs for further assistance.
TheNigerian Healthwise contacted the Director of Public Affairs, Olabisi Adeola, redirected us to the director responsible for the care home.
After getting the director’s contact on the ministry’s website, our correspondent reached out to her on different occassions, but she did not pick her calls nor respond to messages sent to her on her WhatsApp and phone number.
