EVELYN Oikhena is the mother of
Daniel Oikhena, the stowaway boy
who hid in the tyre compartment of
an Arik Air plane, from Benin to
Lagos, thinking it was America
bound. After being investigated and
questioned by the SSS, he was given
a scholarship by the Edo and Osun
Stte governments up till university
level.
In a phone chat with ENCOMIUM
Weekly, Evelyn Oikhena told us
about the school the boy attends
presently and how she feels about
how things have turned out.
What school does your son attend
now?
He attends Edo College now, and he
is in the boarding house.
How do you feel now that you don’t
have to spend money on him, yet he
will get the best education?
I am very happy. I thank God for
everything and the way things have
turned out eventually. I am very
grateful for the scholarship. I was
worried but now things have gotten
better. It is the way the media
handled it that made people aware
of the matter. I would like to meet
the governor of Osun State one on
one and thank him. But there is no
way I can get across to him because
I don’t know how to go about it. I
have never been to Osun State
neither do I know how to get
there. The Osun and Edo State
governors are the ones that took his
matter up. Though the Osun State
governor was the first to promise to
give Daniel a scholarship. Initially,
the Edo State governor did not
interfere, I was surprised when they
took the matter up. I am very
grateful and happy. I say a very big
thank you to them.
Will you or have you been given any
allowance to take care of Daniel?
No, I wasn’t given any money. I am
just relieved that he would be
getting quality education till
university level without me
spending a kobo.
What school was he attending
before the incident?
He attended New Scholar Secondary
School and later changed to a
government school, Ogbe Secondary
School, where he spent a term.
The last
time we
spoke
with you,
you told
us that
your
husband
and his
family
were
disturbing
you
because
they
thought
you were
making
money from the scholarship. Are
they still disturbing you?
They said they read it in the papers
that I said the boy has no father. I
told them I never said so. If I want
to say so, I won’t bear his name,
neither will his son. All I said was
that he abandoned us and wasn’t
caring for us. Even now, my two
boys are at home. They cannot go
to school because I don’t have
money now. I don’t have anything
doing because my shop got burnt. I
was trying to recover when all these
things happened. My shop got
burnt on January 20, 2013, I used to
run my own beauty salon.
So, what are you doing now?
I am not doing anything. I use this
opportunity to appeal to people to
assist me get back my shop, so I can
send my other children back to
school. I called my husband and
told him that he announced on
television that he was a good father,
but his children are at home when
their mates are in school. He said if
I can’t take care of them and pay
their school fees, I should bring
them to him. I told him I couldn’t
bring the children to him that God
will provide and help us take care of
the children.
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