‘My three pikin bin vomit till dem weak’ - wetin we know about food poisoning wey affect primary school children for Osun

One woman don come out to tok say her three pikin dem dey among doz wey dey affected by di suspected food poisoning wey happun to primary school children for Osun state Nigeria.

Di incident happun for St James primary School B, Owoope Osogbo wey get about 200 pupils.

Na on Monday informate bin comot say pupils wey chop di food wey dey linked to di state goment free school feeding programme begin dey vomit.

Di suspected food poisoning affect pupils wey dey primary one to three for di school wen dem chop di food wey dem serve for di school feeding programme but goment tok say na about eighteen don receive treatment and discharged.

‘My three pikin complain of stomach ache’

Madam Irewumi Omolara wey be mother of three girls tok say wen her children bin reach house on Monday from school, dem begin dey complain of pains wey make dem dey go toilet.

She tell BBC Pidgin say her three children bin chop rice and egg wey be di food wey dem serve for dia school dat day but di egg bin get bad odour.

“Na wen my children bin reach house dey complain of stomach ache, and na di three of dem dey go toilet and vomit at di same time. Dem don become so weak bifor we carry dem go hospital.”

“Na rice and egg dem chop, but dem complain say di egg dey smell and doz wey chop rice and beans no fall sick. No be dia first time to chop di school food be dis but e just happun dat day and goment carry dem go do test.

Madam Omolara add say di state goment bin carry di affected pupils go hospital wia dem collect injections and drugs. For Tuesday morning again, dem carry di pupils go LAUTECH for test and dem don resume back to school.

For St James primary School B, na di primary one to three dey benefit from di goment school feeding programme and no be di first time wey di pupils dey chop di school food.

“Dem plenti for di school and di goment begin dey patrol around wen dey hear about di mata, dem no leave us alone,” Mrs Omolara tok.

Wetin goment tok

Di goment for Osun state confam say dem begin investigations into di mata sake of say na very delicate mata.

According to di commissioner for information and public enlightenment for Osun Kolapo Alimi, di goment don summon di cooks wey dey involved for di cooking of di food.

“Di govnor don direct di say make dem stop di food cooking for di affected school till di report of di investigations come out.”

“Di govnor also direct di enforcement of food standards and control wia dem go also audit di O-Meal structure so anoda case no go happun again.”

Di goment add say dem begin treatment of di affected pupils and dem dey discharged but no be food poisoning affect di children.

'Test say no be food poisoning'

According to di special adviser wey dey handle di O-Meal for Osun state Ayodele Oluwaseyi, di results of di test wey dem do for di affected pupils no show food poisoning connected to di school feeding program.

Di special adviser reveal say wetin dem gather from di investigations show say e get some circumstances wey dey between di morning feeding and di alleged food poisoning wey happun for night.

“Outcome of di investigation ordered by govnor Ademola Adeleke show say some pupils of St James Primary School, Owo-Ope in Osogbo no dey poisoned from a meal served by a vendor of di programme.”

“Di affected pupils na from di same street and transported to di same hospital by dia parents at the same time. Di state goment bin carry out fresh tests on di alleged pupils and di results wey come dey show negative to food poisoning.”

BBC Pidgin gather say di affected pupils don return back to dia school but di goment don stop di feeding program.

Wetin O-MEAL mean?

Di Osun Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme na wetin dey referred to as O-MEALS wey dey structured to help children dey chop food for school. Formerly called ‘Home Grown School Feeding and Health Programme (HGSFP)’, di O-MEALS na to also empower ova 3000 community caterers wey dey di state.

Na 2004 di school feeding programme bin begin wen di federal goment bin initiate a school-feeding program as part of di Universal Basic Education Act.

Many states no too get power to handle di program and out of di thirteen states wey begin di program, na only Kano and Osun state try continue di program afta many years.

Rauf Aregbesola bin suspend di school feeding programme for April 2011 and later revive am for 30th April 2012.

Di program even draw international attention and na since dat time every govnor of Osun state dey continue di school feeding program for primary school pupils.