BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Residents of Wire and Cable, Orisumbare, Oganla and Alada communities in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State have sent a Save Our Souls message to Governor Seyi Makinde on the deplorable condition of roads in their area.
They made the call recently while speaking with The Point on their plights, which according to them, have been worsened by government’s insensitivity to the welfare of the citizens.
A resident, Matthew Olorede, said driving a car or a bus at 30 kilometres per hour from Ita-Faaji community to Wire and Cable area of Apata, Ibadan should take approximately five minutes if the roads were in good shape.
However at the moment, he said it would take about 25 minutes to cover the distance as a result of the deplorable condition of the road.
He said, “There are lots of gullies and craters on the way from All Saints College to Wire and Cable, through Ita-Faaji community, as a result of several years of abandonment.
“There are no drainages and some of the local people in the community engage in illegal excavation of sand and that has worsened the condition of the road.”
A motorist in the community, Kehinde Ashola, said, “The poor condition of the road has become a nightmare for vehicle owners in the community. The situation is usually tense during the rainy season. The road is usually slippery thereby making vehicles break down.
“It takes about 25 minutes to drive from Ita-Faaji to Wire and Cable. But, when it rains, you can spend longer time if you are lucky that your vehicle does not break down. Sometimes, we get stranded for a whole day if a vehicle breaks down in the crater.”
Mrs Oyinkansola Aremu, alongside other members of the community, lamented that there was a high rate of accident on the road as a result of bumps and craters.
“The road is usually slippery whenever it rains and commercial motorcyclists otherwise called okadamen ride very recklessly. This causes accidents,” she explained.
An elderly man in the area, Tijani Omotosho, alleged that whereas the road was earmarked for construction four years ago, the project was not executed.
According to him, the state government indicated in a newspaper publication that the road construction from Nihort to Wire and Cable would be embarked upon.
“It was reported in Premium Times of February 8, 2018 as well as Daily Post Nigeria of February 9 of that year that Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s government approved the rehabilitation of the road,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde has indicated his resolve to address the needs of the residents of the state in line with his electoral promises, saying that infrastructures would continue to get fixed in phases, based on the availability of resources.
