An Ibadan based grandmother, Mrs Labake Olayiwola has sought for the help of Nigerians after her mentally-challenged grandson, Ismaila Olayiwola, was mistaken for a thief.
According to Tribune, it was gathered that the grandson, Ismaila, mostly forgets his name either and calls himself another one.
It was also gathered that due to his situation, he has often been taken for a criminal as he picks things at random which makes people mistake him for a thief.
Recently, he was said to have wandered off from his grandmother’s residence last week Thursday, entering into the house of a stranger to sleep where he was taken for a thief.
As reported, he was later rescued by the men of the Oluyole Security Surveillance.
According to the Chief commandant of the security network, Olusegun Idowu, it was gathered that the people realized that he was not a criminal when they interrogated him.
The Commandant said that the vigilante group members were patrolling Orisumbare Supo area of Olomi Community at about 12 midnight when they heard shouts of ‘thief! thief!! from the residents. “We later learnt he entered the house to sleep. The chairman of the area did not allow him to be touched but the people tied him so that he would not run away.
“I was called and when we got there and saw the boy, we sensed that he was not a criminal. We untied his hands and asked him questions, but he could not respond coherently. “We asked him if he understands Yoruba but he replied: ‘Mi o gbo Yoruba’ (I don’t understand Yoruba) in the same dialect. We asked of his name and he said it was Joshua. We asked him where his residence was, and he just said ‘Ago.’
We started taking him round from Olomi, to Ile Shehu, to Agric. We got to Okunade and turned to a neighbourhood when we saw a man who recognised one of us. He was the one who made us to know that Ismaila’s grandmother had been looking for him. He was the one who took us to the boy’s residence and we saw the worried grandmother who burst into tears,” Commandant Idowu explained.
Also the grandmother said that Ismaila left the house when she went to give him water to drink after dinner.
“Last Thursday night, I gave him dinner and wanted to bring him water. Unfortunately, unknown to me, I didn’t shut the door very well so he left home.
“I searched for him that night but could not find him. By 5am on Friday, I started the search again. I also asked neighbours who knew him and they said that they didn’t see him. As I was returning home, I was told that he had been found.”
She also revealed that Ismaila’s mental case was hereditary as he got it from his mother.
“I gave birth to my daughter in 1980. She is my third child. She is the only child among others who didn’t go to school. She does not even know how to count money.
“She is with me and just fetches water for people to pay her. She could not marry because of her condition but a man first exploited this and impregnated her. She gave birth to a son named Joshua. Joshua also exhibited his mother’s traits but not as much as Ismaila’s own. I was the one taking care of him until I was able to trace his father through someone and handed him over,” she said.
Continuing, Mrs Olayiwola said that her daughter was impregnated again and abandoned, leading to the delivery of Ismaila.
“The man did not show up when she was pregnant. We asked my daughter to take us to his family but she kept taking us to wrong places.
“Ismaila is bearing my husband’s name because the man who impregnated his mother disappeared. Till he was two years old, he could not talk. I was thinking that his tongue was tied, so I went to State Hospital, Adeoyo, Ring Road, Ibadan, where they said he didn’t have tongue tie.
“At first, I was taking him to daycare centre but at a point. I was told to take him away because he couldn’t talk. I was advised to take him to the midst of other children so I took him to another school.
“Whenever I took him to the school along with his food in a flask, he would leave his and eat other children’s own.
“Whenever he saw things, he would take it or leave the house, and I would be looking for him. He would pick things without knowing the value. He could pick a phone but we would collect it back from him. People know he has this kind of problem, but sometimes they beat him because of the way he takes their things,” she explained.
She also solicited for the help of Nigerians to put Ismaila in a proper care home where he would be adequately taken care of.
“I’m so tired of everything. The man who impregnated my daughter is an alcohol addict, and immediately he knew my daughter was pregnant, he disappeared and has been untraceable. My daughter is also affected.
“I will like him to be put in a place where he can be taken care of by experienced hands, while I’ll be going to visit him.”
