BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Family members of Muideen Oladejo, a personnel of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in Osun State, who lost his life during a rescue operation at Imesi-Ile and Esa-Odo communities in Obokun Local Government Area of the state, have sent a save-our-souls to the state government.
Oladejo, aged 37, was gunned down by suspected kidnappers in a forest at Ere Ijesa, on July 7, during a shoot out between the bandits and a detachment of security operatives comprising the police, hunters, and personnel of the Kiriji Heritage Defenders and OPC members.
The security operatives were reported to have rescued the four abducted passengers during the operation.
The late Oladejo, who was also a farmer and a blacksmith, was survived by three wives and nine children.
Barely three weeks after their breadwinner’s demise, the family appealed to the state government for financial assistance, saying that life had become extremely difficult for them.
During an interview with The Point, the family members claimed that the state government had promised to render financial assistance to them.
Bose Oladejo, one of the wives of the deceased, who is heavily pregnant, lamented that the family had been facing financial constraints since the man’s passage.
While speaking on behalf of other family members, Bose appealed to Governor Gboyega Oyetola to grant scholarship to the nine children of the deceased.
“Following our husband’s death, the family members appealed to the state government for assistance but we have yet to hear from them. We wrote a save-our-souls letter to the governor but nothing has been done.
“It has not been easy for us since our husband died. He left three wives and nine children. I am the third and the last wife. As you can see, I am heavily pregnant. Of the nine children, I have three and they are still very young. The eldest should be 14 years old. I used to assist my late husband on his farm and it is same with my seniors.
“We had yet to cultivate the farm when he died, so there is nothing for us to fall back on. We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid. We have been living on God’s mercy and on the benevolence of our neighbours. Some of them would give us N200, others N500 in order for us to feed.”
“We shall be happy if the government can assist us financially and even grant scholarship to the children because we don’t have any other hope of survival,” she added.
When contacted on the telephone, Chief Press Secretary to Osun State Governor, Ismail Omipidan, confirmed that the state government promised to assist the family of the deceased.
According to him, efforts are on to reach out to the family. He, however, did not disclose the level of the state government’s commitment to the family of the deceased.
