By Ishola Adeleke and Ada Obeleagu, YeyeNews.com, November 21, 2021
Orphanages in Lagos have experienced a sudden rise in their occupants since Nigerian musician Davido announced a two hundred and fifty million naira donation to all orphanages across the country. A neighbor to one of the orphanage homes in Ogba in Lagos State told YeyeNews.com reporter that they have noticed an increase in the people living in the orphanage home in the past 24 hours since Davido made the announcement.
“This orphanage home housed mostly children prior to the announcement by Davido. You can rarely see anyone more than 10 years old living there and the place was very scanty. But just go inside now the place is filled with so many people – mostly adults who are not even teenagers. The same observation has been reported by people living close to other orphanage homes in the city”, she narrated.
Dayo Peterson, one of the new entrants into an orphanage home around the Surulere area, said he decided to relocate to the place from his shanty inside the national stadium because he believes it is the easiest way to have a share of the money promised by Davido. The 17 years old Dayo explained that he has been living in a shack inside the national stadium for two years but decided to seek shelter in the orphanage after his friend informed him of the musician’s decision to donate the huge sum of money to orphanages.
“I want to enjoy a soft Christmas o! That is why I came here with other of my friends. The money that Davido wants to give us will improve our lives here for some time. If every big man is giving money to orphanages like this we will not go and live inside stadium and under bridges. Because of this money people living under bridge have all relocated to different orphanage homes”, he said.
In a related development almajiris in Zamfara have called on Davido to remember them in the sharing of the two hundred and fifty million naira donation. They claimed that the number of almajiris in Nigeria is far more than all the people in orphanages and old people’s homes combine and that almost all the almajiris are also orphans. “We want Davido to remember us. We are very many and we don’t have helper. Let him give us money and food. If he give us we will vote him in election”, one of the almajiri told a YeyeNews.com reporter in Hausa.
