Few days ago, the story of Sylvester Oromoni rattled the internet. Until his death, Sylvester Junior was a year two student of Dowen College, Lagos. He developed health complications while at the boarding school and his parents were called to take him to a proper hospital. The school management claimed the boy sustained injuries while playing football but their testimony didn’t correlate with the boy’s obvious symptoms; he could neither lift his arm nor walk when his guardian came to pick him up. His hips and shoulders were swollen and his lips were peeling. The guardian was left with no other choice than to carry him like a baby. He was then taken to the hospital where he complained of body pains and a sharp pain in his throat. He kept opening his mouth and dipping his hands inside his throat indicating that something was choking him.
His parents knew that what the boy was going through was beyond football injury. It was more of an internal pain. They became eager to know what actually happened to him and after persistently asking him, he revealed how some students bullied him at school for reasons best known to them. The bullies – a five boy gang in SS2 stormed his room one evening and ordered his roommates to leave. They then proceeded to give him a general beating. Straps of belt sledged his skin and he wailed in pain. He slipped and fell from his bed and the bullies used him as a foot mat, crumpling his frail body with the sole of their footwears. Finally he was compelled to gulp a black substance before they left him. Not long after reeling out the details to his parents, Sylvester gave up the ghost.
Since then, all social media platforms in Nigeria have been inundated with the hashtag #JusticeforSylvester. Several celebrities have lent their voices by sharing Sylvester’s story on their social media handles while calling on the government and appropriate bodies to do the needful.
One of the problems evident in this regard is evasion of justice. Some people try so hard to veil their flaws even when it is as clear as day, like the inscription on a bill-board. This is the case of the school in question – Dowen College, Lagos. After the story went viral, the said school published a press release debunking the viral story that the boy had died as a result of bullying and cultism related matters. Obviously, they knew the implication of the truth and were afraid it would crush them [by denting their image], ignoring the fact that a family had lost a son. The first thing they could have done in this case was to carry out a proper investigation. The deceased had revealed the actual thing that happened to him. Sylvester couldn’t have lied in his testimony while being crushed by the pangs of intense discomfort.
The boy’s father, Mr. Sylvester had also revealed during a live interview that the proprietor of the school hadn’t called him yet. And a staff member who did, was more concerned about the viral narrative. This has shown that Dowen College is more interested in how the world sees them than the child who had died and the difficult moment experienced by his parents. Sylvester’s father emphasised that earlier in October, his late son revealed signs of bullying meted out on him by the senior boys of Dowen College. He however, took it lightly.
This could be the reason the poor boy kept his pain to himself this time. Perhaps if he spoke up earlier he would have survived.
Watching the father narrate the story on live interview was heartbreaking. Dowen College is one of the most expensive schools in Nigeria, hence this carelessness on their part is disturbing. A family who spent so much to give their children the best education deserves better than the lifeless body of their child. It is understandable that placing students of different ages and classes in the same room has its own advantage but when the school management notices that the senior students have begun to bully the junior ones, they should separate them. Dowen College’s inability to sanction notorious students [probably because of their elite parents or fear of losing them to other schools] has resulted in this disaster.
The Nigerian educational system should know that running a school requires more than collecting school fees and teaching lessons. And for a boarding school, more is expected. Children who are raised by caregivers and educationists should not only be academically sound but morally upright. This is where Dowen College failed. The negligence on their part was grave. Where was the housemaster when Sylvester was being beaten? Were there no security men in the school? Was Sylvester’s voice so faint that he wasn’t heard? Because obviously he was writhing in pain while being beaten. Why were other students mere onlookers? Why couldn’t any of them report the incident to the appropriate bodies when the poor boy was being battered or the next day? What kind of children are they raising in that school? Dowen College has a lot of questions to answer because this is how bullies are successfully groomed to become a terror to other people and the society at large.
A story which has gone viral with respect to this topic is that the parents of the culprits are planning to fly their children abroad so as to escape justice. The credibility of that story isn’t certain but if it’s true, then that’s a wrong thing to do. Proper parenting goes beyond procreating and giving the children quality education. If a child does something bad, do not exonerate him/her. Disciplining that child will make him a better person. The parents of the culprits should place themselves in the shoes of Sylvester’s parents and know if their action is the best in this situation.
If some parents continue to act in this manner, they will end up raising and protecting criminals who would grow to come a terror in the society. Wealthy parents who go the extra mile to prevent their ill mannered children from facing the wrath of the law, raise bullies and beasts in the end. These children will never learn from their mistakes, instead they’ll become worse. And in future, if they do not see who to attack, they resort to their parents.
So the parents of the culprits should encourage their children to speak out and confess their sinister act. The school authority should also do the same. If this is done, the lives of other children in that school would be saved. Nigeria should not be surprised when they find out that many students are being bullied in that school. But have chosen to seal their lips and keep living in fear. How can such children attain the highest and truest expression of themselves in such an environment?
On the other hand, parents need to wake up to the sad reality of false sense of security prevalent in most schools. How can Dowen College say that the students who bullied Sylvester were suspended when it was a white lie? Does it mean they are pleased with the young bullies brewing in the school? This is to show how rotten the educational system is becoming.
Sylvester initially gave hints of being bullied at school but his parents ignored the handwriting on the wall. When a child gives such a complaint, the parents should withdraw him/her from that school with immediate effect. They shouldn’t wait for the worst to happen before they act.
It is possible that Sylvester could have survived if he was given prompt medical attention. Why would his parents take him all the way to Warri when he could be treated in Lagos? He didn’t need to confess before his problem would be detected. A thorough scan and test could have been carried out on him and results would be seen.
Parents should make their children feel safe. It is so disheartening that a twelve-year-old boy would be going through excruciating pain and keep such a secret to himself. Probably he felt his parents were incapable of saving him from the hands of the bad boys.
In all, Sylvester’s death should serve as an eye opener to parents, students and the educational system at large. The late boy deserves justice no matter what it takes. He is dead, yes. But this justice is not for him alone, it is for the safety of other school children, it is for the safety and future of Nigeria.
Written by Janefrances Chinwe Iwuchukwu
