13-year-old boy, Daniel Oikhena has become popular and luck
definitely has smiled on him probably not what he bargained for, all
thanks to the attention he has been getting after he was caught hiding in tyre hole of Arik plane on the 24th of August. Governor Adams Oshiomhole who had an interview with the boy & meeting
with the boy's family discovered the boy wasn't a threat but as a
matter of fact intelligent, this prompted the government into directing Women
Affairs Ministry to take over the boy's training in order to afford Daniel
the opportunity to realize his life’s ambition which has always been to fly a plane to America, as a pilot.
The mother, Evelyn is also not left out, according to her
“It
is even difficult for me to see him some times because he is undergoing
some training and that is being taken care of by the state government. I
no longer have powers over him. It was even recently that I was able to
see him.
They decided to allow me see
him because they were preparing him to go back to school. The only thing
I can say now is that the father and his people are bothering my life.
They think the state government gave me money and, rather than think
about the welfare of the boy, they think it is all about money. They
accused me of saying my husband was sick or was even dead but I never
said all that and God knows”.
But I thank God for
his mercy and that is why it is painful, rather for the father to be
grateful to God that the son survived in that aircraft, all they have
been accusing me is money from government. I am just saying it because
if anything happens to me, they should be held responsible since they
want to kill me for something I know nothing about.
Right from day
one, I have been running up and down about Daniel’s matter, none of
them cared about what I went through with my children. My daughters are
supposed to have gone back to school now but due to no money they have
not gone back. Their father does not care about that and it is very sad
really”.
Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard saw Daniel on his
first day at school on
Monday. It was during their break period. Clad in sparkling white shirt
and dark green short, the stowaway boy was seen with other students
playing. Daniel is in
JSS 1 and a boarding student. You can only watch Daniel from afar, you are not allowed to get close to him.
Other
students were surrounding him. Apart from the plain clothes security
operatives that were observed around him, his teachers were always
around as if they were instructed to monitor him 24 hours. According to
a top official of the school unless there was an instruction from the
Edo Government House, no one is allowed to talk to him on the matter.
He said:
“You
know that he is a government son now; so the instruction is to ensure
that he is well monitored both for security reason and his education.
So it is difficult for anyone to speak with him. The idea is to ensure
that he forget about what happened at the airport and concentrate in his
studies and, so far, the boy is doing well.
We
want him to catch up with all he has missed academically because we
understand he was in a private school before but due to no money he was
almost becoming a drop out. Before he enrolled here we were told that
he told government he prefers this school.
And
that is why he was registered here. And if you look at our history,
you will know that majority of the great men and women from this state
attended this school, so the boy may be in another journey to glory
here”.
It is said that Daniel has joined the league of
those referred to as Oshiomhole’s children going by the situation around
him. These children are about 20, in different schools, and enjoying
sponsorship from governor. It was learnt that government officials have
instructions to take care of the children who must enjoy the
privileges accruing to the children of governor.
Going from stow-away to being student-A
