Drumming support for Damilola Ajagbonna November 9, 2007

It was this picture(left) that I saw in one of our dailies on Wednesday(7th, Nov) that caught my eye.

This handsome young man is Damilola Ajagbonna, a bright kid that might soon be deported from the U.K to Nigeria, because he is 6-weeks late to claim British Citizenship as a child. Abandoned by a father and adopted by an aunt in the U.K, he is about to be rejected from a country he has lived in since May 1999. At present he is in a dilema as to what next this life holds for him.

“For Mr Ajagbonna, the revelation that his new home regards him as an illegal immigrant is heartbreaking. His father deserted his mother, who suffers from sickle cell anaemia, when he was a child in Nigeria. In 1999 his aunt decided to give him the chance of a new life in Britain.

“I have come to love this country. But when you discover that the country doesn’t love you it is very upsetting. It is even more so because I have done nothing wrong,” he says. “It feels like my life has been taken away from me.” more here

Damilola writes in defense of academies,
“When I joined what is now Greig City Academy, it was a failing inner city school on its way down. The floors were grimy and ingrained with dirt, the corridors were gloomy and dimly lit. The teachers were demoralised and apathetic, and as you would expect, the pupils, especially year 11, were totally disillusioned.

Let there be no mistake, however, within all this there were huge untapped amounts of potential, aside from a negative sense of pride that because I wore the school colours I was, in essence, untouchable….

Then came the advent of the City Academy. Seven years down the line I walked out on polished royal blue floors, with classrooms humming to the sound of industry, enthusiastic teachers, and proud and purposeful pupils, all this resulting in ever increasing percentages at GCSE and the chance of a better education for the residents of Haringey.

You see all that was needed in my school, and in most failing inner city schools was a sense of the correct sort of pride; pride not in the fact that……….but pride in the fact that we had amazing buildings, the best sporting equipment, one computer for every two pupils, and a renewed sense of purpose. more here

The Home office says:
“You have during your time in the United Kingdom received education at the expense of the British taxpayer for which you had no entitlement under the immigration rules to receive. Given your age we consider it reasonable for you to be able to support yourself independently without the need for direct support from any family members… Also it was considered that there was no serious or compelling family or other consideration which made your exclusion from the United Kingdom undesirable.”

And Damilola replies:
“I have done everything within the law but now this country seems determined to place me outside the law,” he said. “I don’t want to behave like an overstayer and drag out the process indefinitely, I don’t want to break the rules, but I find myself the victim of a set of consequences of which I have no control.”

An interview by Robert Chalmers here

Just 2-points to note from where he interned, the second point says:
“The boy showed no fear. Unlike many of us, Damilola wasn’t intimidated by anyone – illustrated by his fearless goalkeeping stance which made him the best player in the best think tank football team in the country.” the first point says here